Page  2 
"  30 


ro, 

81, 
139 
143 
'159. 
•  180 
'  184 


ERRATA. 

i  last  line,  insert  "  ,sy.m/u«r  befoa- "  leader.- 
I  line  4, "  sacred"  shuuld  be  seaUd.  ^ 
'      14,  insert  Jjrai/  after  the  first  "  and. 

19  ,ftpr  "  reason  of,"  insert  any  man,o) . 


i:^  ^  ^  ^ 

OF  TMK 
AT 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


u  o  :v  .'V  T I  <3  :v    c_>  i.- 


SAMUEL  AONEW, 

OF    F  H  I  I,  A  I)  K  I.  F  H  1  A  ,  PA. 


BX  7752    .PA2  G5 

Gibbons,   William,  1781-1845. 

A  review  and  refutation  of 


1 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/reviewrefutationOOgibb_0 


REVIEW  AND  REFUTATION 


OF  SOME  OF  THE 

OPPROBRIOUS  CHARGES 

AGAINST 

THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS, 

AS  EXHIBITED  IN  A  PAMPHLET  CALLED 

"A  DECLARATION,"  &c. 

PUBLISHED    BY    ORDER    OF    THE    YEARLY     MEETING  OF 
ORTHODOX  FRIENDS  (sO  CALLED)  WHICH  WAS  HELD 
IN  PHILADELPHIA  IN  THE    YEAR  1828. 

TO  WHICH  IS  ADDED, 

REMARKS  ON  WHAT  IS  CALLED  THE  HYPOSTATICAL  UNION, 

AND  ON 

THE  TRINITY. 
BY  WILLIAM  GIBBONS, 

LATE   OF  WILMINSTON,  DELAWARE. 

WITH   A  MEMOIR  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
T.  E.  CHAPMAN,  NO.  74  NORTH  FOURTH  ST. 
1847. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1847,  by 
Henry  Gibbons, 

the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania. 


Merrihew  gc  Thompson,  Printers, 
No.  7  Carter's  Alley-,  Philad. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


In  the  3d  month,  1S45,  the  late  Williarn  Gibbons,  of  Wil- 
mmgton,  opened  to  the  Representative  Committee,  or  Meet- 
ing for  Sufferings  of  Philadelphia  Yearly  Meeting  of  Friends, 
a  religious  concern  which  had  impressed  his  mind,  in  relation 
to  a  work  he  had  in  view  for  publication;  and  which  he  be- 
lieved would  tend  to  promote  the  cause  of  Truth  and  righteous- 
ness. That  Meeting,  at  his  request,  appointed  a  committee  to 
render  him  such  assistance  as  might  open  in  the  wisdom  of 
Truth. 

A  short  time  afterward,  he  read  before  said  committee  alarge 
portion  of  the  following  essay,  or  Review  of  some  of  the  charges 
against  Friends,  as  published  by  those  called  Orthodox  in  the 
year  1828.  It  subsequently  appeared  that  this  was  only  a  part 
of  a  larger  work,  intended  to  embrace  a  number  of  subjects  re- 
lating to  the  Christian  principles,  and  also  to  the  history  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  with  particular  reference  to  the  causes  and 
progress  of  the  measures  which  resulted  in  the  separation  that 
took  place  in  the  once  united  body  of  Friends ;  but  he  was 
called  away  by  death,  before  the  whole  work  contemplated 
was  finished. 

Among  the  various  essays  commenced,  and  left  in  manuscript, 
by  our  deceased  friend,  the  following  Review  and  Exposition 
of  part  of  the  charges  against  Friends,  as  contained  in  a  pam- 
phlet purporting  to  be  issued  by  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  Orthodox 
Friends,  (so  called,)  which  was  held  in  Philadelphia  in  the  year 
1828,  is  the  only  one  that  appears  to  have  been  finished  by  the 
writer.  It  exhibits  a  laborious  research  among  the  writings  of 
our  predecessors  in  religious  profession,  and  brings  into  view 
a  mass  of  testimony,  deeply  interesting  to  Friends  and  the  pub- 
lic at  the  present  day.  Much  other  matter,  equally  interesting 
and  appropriate,  it  is  believed,  might  have  been  collected  from 
the  early  and  more  modem  works  of  Friends. 


4 


Inasmuch  as  the  framers  of  the  said  Declaration,  in  culling 
out  of  the  printed  Sermons  of  Elias  Hicks  and  other  writings, 
a  number  of  what  they  considered  objectionable  sentiments, 
have  charged  the  whole  body  of  Friends  with  adopting  "  anti- 
christian  doctrines," — "subversive  of  the  Christian  faith,  and 
contrary  to  the  doctrines  and  principles  of  early  Friends," — 
the  extracts"  thus  adduced  have  been  reviewed,  article  by 
article,  and  the  unfairness  of  the  charge  exposed  and  refuted. 

William  Gibbons  had  no  desire  to  open  the  channels  of  reli- 
gious controversy,  nor  to  harrow  up  the  party  feelings  which 
agitated  the  Society,  and  produced  the  separation  in  1827—8. 
He  has  endeavoured  to  avoid  the  use  of  epithets  and  expres- 
sions that  might  have  a  tendency  to  produce  such  an  effect; 
but  in  speaking  the  truth,  he,  sometimes,  has  used  plain  lan- 
guage. It  was  the  repeatedly  avowed  intention  of  the  author 
to  state  facts,  and  quote  testimonies  from  acknowledged  works, 
and  leave  the  reader  to  form  his  own  judgment  and  conclusions 
thereon.  The  committee  of  assistants  united  with  this  \-iew  of 
the  writer;  and  since  his  decease,  have  carefully  examined  the 
statements  and  quotations  made  in  the  following  Essay ;  and 
the  same  having  been  read  before  the  Representative  Commit- 
tee, it  was,  after  deliberate  consideration,  agi-eed  that  it  might 
be  published,  as  appears  by  the  following  minute: 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Representative  Committee,  or  Meet- 
ing for  Sufferings,  held  at  Cherry  street,  Philadelphia,  the  12th 
and  13th  days  of  the  6th  montli,  1846^ 

"The  reading  of  the  manuscript  of  William  Gibbons,  de- 
ceased, called  'A  Review  of  the  Declaration,' &c.,  having  been 
concluded,  on  deliberate  consideration,  it  was  agreed  that  the 
work  might  be  published  with  the  official  sanction  of  this  body. 
"  Extracted  from  the  minutes. 

"  John  J.  White,  Clerk." 


INTRODUCTION. 


It  has  been  remarked  by  a  late  writer,  that  the  rise  of  the  peo- 
ple called  Quakers  in  the  seventeenth  century,  formed  an 
epoch  both  in  ecclesiastical  and  civil  history.  It  is  indeed  true, 
that  the  doctrines  they  preached,  and  the  testimonies  they  firmly 
and  fearlessly  bore,  in  despite  both  of  the  sword  of  the  civil 
powers  and  the  thunders  of  professedly  religious  establishments, 
went  to  burst  the  fetters  of  the  human  mind,  and  to  free  it  from 
the  tyraimy  of  the  one,  and  the  darkness  of  the  other. 

Having  cast  off  the  creed-making  system,  as  inconsistent  with 
the  freedom  of  thought  and  the  progressive  development  of 
light  and  knowledge  in  the  soul,  the  people  called  Quakers 
placed  their  reliance  on  love,  as  the  only  secure  bond  of  reli- 
gious union,  and  good  fruits,  as  the  proper  test  of  church  fel- 
lowship. These  they  considered  as  the  vital  effects  of  the  great 
fundamental  principle  of  all  true  religion — the  light  of  Christ 
WITHIN.  Building  on  this  foundation,  there  could  be  no  conten- 
tion among  them  about  external  ordinances,  ceremonies,  days 
or  times, — so  fruitful  of  controversy  in  other  religious  bodies; 
for  all  these  they  cast  off,  as  wholly  foreign  to  the  gospel  of 
Christ.  Religion  was,  with  them,  an  inward,  practical,  expe- 
rimental work  ;  and  the  good  Word  of  Life,  sometfiing  to  be 
spiritually  felt,  handled,  tasted,  and  easily  understood  ;  so  that, 
although  high  and  holy,  yet  so  simple  and  plain  was  the  way 
of  life  and  salvation,  that  the  way-faring  man,  though  a  fool, 
could  not  err  therein.  No  disputes  could  disturb  their  peace  on 
the  score  of  pre-eminence,  as  who  should  be  greatest  among 
them;  for  they  acknowledged  no  head  or  master  but  Christ, 
and  all  the  members  were  brethren,  in  the  enjoyment  of  equal 
privileges.  But  if  any  were  found  worthy  of  "  double  honour," 
it  was  a  boon  not  aspired  after,  but  freely  bestowed. 

It  is  indeed  a  wise  saying,  that    we  ought  frequently  to  re- 
cur to  first  principles     and  that  "  that  Society  or  people  who  do 
1* 


6 


not  often  recur  to  first  principles,  will  surely  go  to  decay.'' 
These  maxims  are  doubtless  founded  on  the  assumption,  that 
the  "first  principles"  alluded  to,  are  the  principles  of  Divine 
Wisdom  and  Truth.  Hence,  it  may  be  asserted,  that  if  the  doc- 
trines and  precepts  which  the  Divine  Master  taught  his  imme- 
diate followers,  had  been  kept  in  view  and  strictly  adhered  to, 
the  apostacy  that  began  to  appear  in  the  latter  end  of  the  apos- 
tolic age,  and  which  ultimately  merged  Christendom  for  many 
centuries  in  ignorance,  darkness  and  blood,  could  never  have 
overwhelmed  it.  So,  in  like  manner,  if  the  fundamental  princi- 
ple and  doctrines  preached  by  George  Fox  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  set  forth  in  the  writings  which  he  has  left,  had  been 
faithfully  maintained  and  reduced  to  practice  by  his  successors, 
there  never  could  have  been  a  schism  in  the  Society  of  Friends. 

Now  it  is  a  question  of  sufficiently  deep  interest  to  merit  a 
candid  and  impartial  investigation  and  inquiry,  why  a  body 
of  Christian  professors  which,  for  more  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  had  continued  more  closely  united  in  the  bonds  of 
religious  fellowship,  harmony  and  peace,  than  any  other  pro- 
fessing community,  since  the  apostolic  age, — a  body  signalized 
by  its  steady  and  peaceable  habits,  and  no  way  disposed  to 
become  alienated  from  its  adopted  principles  by  the  lo  heres! 
or  lo  theres  !  or  to  be  blown  about  by  every  or  by  any  wind  of 
new  doctrines, — why  a  body,  the  frame  of  a  religious  commu- 
nity thus  constituted,  should  have  been  shaken  to  its  foundation 
and  plunged  into  the  quicksands  of  a  revolution. 

Within  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  it  is  well  known  that  such 
a  revolution  has  occurred  in  the  Society  of  Friends ;  that  divi- 
sions have  taken  the  place  of  unity  and  fellowship :  and  that 
the  harmony  and  peace  of  society  have  been  interrupted.  Hence, 
the  once  united  body  of  Friends  has  become  separated  into  dis- 
tinct religious  associations;  and,  in  this  country,  one  part  has 
eissumed  to  be  the  Orthodox  Friends,  while  the  other  part  has 
claimed  and  professed  to  be  The  Society  of  Friends,  on  the  fun- 
damental principles  of  our  predecessors,  George  Fox,  William 
Penn,  Kobert  Barclay,  Isaac  Pennington,  and  other  primitive 
Friends. 

Passing  over  the  chain  of  causes  and  circumstances,  which 
for  years  had  been  in  operation,  and  at  length  produced  a  sepa- 


7 


ration  of  the  Society  into  the  two  distinctive  parts  or  associations 
above  mentioned,  the  principal  object  of  the  following  work  is 
not  only  to  review,  expose^  and  refute  some  of  the  calumnious 
charges  and  insinuations  of  the  Orthodox  Friends,  (so  called,) 
against  the  other  part  of  Society,  (called  Friends,)  as  exhibited 
in  a  pamphlet  called  a  Declaration,  &c  ,  published  by  the  former 
in  the  year  1828,  under  the  apparent  sanction  of  their  Yearly 
Meeting  held  in  Philadelphia,  but  also  to  show  the  accordance 
and  unison  of  the  religious  principles  and  views  of  the  latter 
with  those  of  primitive  Friends,  as  exhibited  in  the  writings 
which  have  been  considered  as  standard  works,  long  approved 
by  the  Society. 

But  in  adopting  this  course,  by  way  of  exposition  of  said 
document,  and  in  vindication  of  Friends'  principles,  it  should 
be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  writings  of  early  Friends  express 
opinions  which  appear  to  be  contradictory  to  each  other,  par- 
ticularly respecting  the  character  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  he  appeared 
in  the  flesh,  as  well  as  the  effect  of  what  he  did  and  suffered 
in  the  body,  for  our  redemption :  so  that  Fox  can  be  quoted 
against  Fox,  and  Penn  against  Penn,  &c.,  and  one  against 
another.  But  it  is  also  a  fact,  as  appears  from  the  numerous 
sects  in  Christendom  which  build  their  di.^oordant  Creeds  and 
Confessions  of  faith  upon  the  Scriptures,  that  the  authors  of  the 
Scriptures  can  also  be  quoted  against  themselves,  and  against 
one  another.  And  as  it  is  only  by  construction,  guided  by  the 
light  of  Divine  Truth,  that  Scripture  can  be  reconciled  with 
Scripture,  so,  among  the  writings  of  early  and  eminently  ex- 
perienced Friends,  there  is  a  wide  field  open  for  that  enlightened 
construction  which  emanates  from  Truth,  in  order  to  reconcile 
and  harmonize- apparent  discrepancies  in  those  writings.  But 
though  such  is  the  fact  in  relation  to  some  of  the  writings  of 
early  Friends,  yet  there  are  many  clear  and  unequivocal  testi- 
monies and  views  recorded  in  their  works,  which  cannot  be 
misconstrued  or  wrested  from  their  coincidence  with  the  doc- 
trines of  Truth,  and  which  serve  to  explain  many  other  pas- 
sages that  may  otherwise  be  considered  obscure  or  ambiguous. 
So  that  the  dispensation  of  the  Gospel  to  the  gentile  world  as  a 
pure,  unmixed,  spiritual  administration,  dispensed  by  a  spiritual 
Administrator,  can  be  established  as  the  faith  of  our  ancestors, 
from  the  clear  testimonies  that  are  found  recorded  in  their 
writings. 


8 


About  the  time  of  the  separation  of  Society^  or  soon  after- 
wards, several  summary  statements  of  some  of  the  causes 
which  had  led  to'  that  result,  and  a  denial  of  the  opprobrious 
charges  published  against  us  by  the  Orthodox  Friends,  (so 
called,)  were  issued  by  our  Yearly  Meeting,  among  which 
were  the  following: 

"  It  is  a  subject  of  public  notoriety,  that  a  division  has  taken 
place  in  our  religious  Society,  accompanied  by  circumstances 
to  which  we  reluctantly  advert ;  but  we  apprehend  ourselves 
called  upon  to  do  so,  inasmuch  as  charges  have  been  preferred 
against  us,  implicating  our  character  as  a  Christian  people,  by 
those  who  once  stood  connected  with  us  in  religious  fellowship. 
The  events  to  which  we  allude,  have  had  their  origin  (as  we 
believe)  in  the  same  prolific  cause  of  evil  that  has  often  agitated 
the  Christian  world, — a  lust  after  power  and  pre-eminence  in 
the  church."  "  Some  influential  individuals,  long  occupying 
conspicuous  stations  in  society,  disregarding  the  precepts  of 
Christ,  found  means  from  time  to  time  to  extend  their  power  : 
and,  combining  together,  arrogated  an  authority  over  their  fel- 
low-members, incompatible  with  their  civil  and  religious  rights. 
This  authority  once  assumed,  pretexts  were  soon  found 
for  its  exercise  ;  and  hence,  an  arbitrary  rule  of  a  few  over  the 
many  was  openly  advocated  and  practically  enforced."  "Nei- 
ther our  long  established  practice,  nor  our  excellent  Discipline, 
could  arrest  the  progress  of  this  evil ; — the  bonds  of  union 
were  burst  asunder,  and  a  division  of  the  Society  became  ine- 
vitable." 

'  In  order  to  ju.stify  the  course  pursued,  and  to  cover  the 
misrule  that  has  thus  divided  the  body,  misrepresentation  has, 
as  is  usual  in  such  cases,  been  resorted  to.  Books  and  pam- 
phlets have  been  issued  from  the  press,  and  industriously  cir- 
culated, impeaching  our  character  as  a  Christian  people,  some 
of  them  sanctioned  by  bodies  professing  to  be  Yearly  Meet- 
ings of  the  Society  of  Friends.  On  the  present  occasion  let  it 
suffice  to  declare,  that  these  high  charges  preferred  against  us, 
are  destitute  of  any  foundation  in  truthy' — Yearly  Meeting  Epistle, 
1829. 

Again :  "  We  are  aware,  dear  friends,  that  our  opponents 
have  pronounced  us  infidels  and  deists  !    They  have  said,  we 


9 


have  departed  from  the  Christian  faith,  and  renounced  the  reli- 
gion of  our  worthy  predecessors  in  the  Truth.  Nothing  is 
easier  than  to  make  such  charges  as  these ;  but,  in  the  present 
case,  we  are  happily  assured  that  nothing  is  harder  than  to 
prove  them.  We  are  not  sensible  of  any  dereliction  on  our  part 
from  the  principles  laid  down  by  our  blessed  Lord."  Neither 
are  we  sensible  of  a?!i/  departure  from  the  faith  or  principles  of 
our  primitive  Friends."  "In  the  fundamental  principle  of  the 
Christian  faith,  '  the  Light  of  Christ  within,  as  God's  gift 
for  man\s  salvatmi,' — and  which,  as  William  Penn  declares, '  is 
as  the  root  of  the  goodly  tree  of  doctrines  which  grew  and 
branched  out  from  it,' — they  were  all  united:  and  in  that  which 
united  them,  we  are  united  with  them  ;  believing  in  the  same 
fundamental  pinciple,  and  in  all  the  blessed  doctrines,  which  grow 
from  it  as  their  root ;  both  as  they  are  laid  down  in  the  Scrip- 
tures of  Truth,  and  in  their  writings." 

"The  charges  brought  against  us  by  our  opposers,  to  injure 
and  invalidate  our  character  as  a  Christian  people,  are  the 
same  that  ivere  preferred  against  our  primitive  Friends,  and  we  ap- 
prehend upon  the  same  ground."  "  We  do  not  believe  that 
the  dissensions  which  have  appeared  among  us,  had  their  ori- 
gin so  much  in  difference  of  opinion  on  doctrinal  po'mls,  as  m 
a  disposition  apparent  in  some  to  exercise  an  oppressive  au- 
thority in  the  church.  These,  in  our  meetings  for  Discipline, 
although  a  small  minority  of  the  whole,  assumed  the  power  to 
direct  a  course  of  measures,  painful  to  the  feelings,  and  contrary 
to  the  deliberate  judgment  of  their  brethren.  Thus  the  few 
usurped  a  power  over  the  many,  subversive  of  our  established 
order.  After  long  and  patient  forbearance,  in  the  hope  that  our 
opposing  brethren  might  see  the  impropriety  of  such  a  course, 
the  great  body  of  the  Yearly  Meeting  saw  no  way  to  regain  a 
state  of  tranquillity,  but  by  a  disconnection  with  those  who  had 
produced,  and  were  promoting  such  disorders  amongst  us." 

"By  official  accounts  it  appears,  that  out  of  about  twenty-five 
thousand  adults  and  children,  which  composed  the  Yearly  Meet- 
ing at  the  time  of  the  division,  about  eighteen  thousand  remain 
in  connection  with  this  body." — Epistle  to  Londoi\  Yearly 
Meeting  in  1830. 

But  the  Yeady  Meeting  of  Friends,  feeling  desirous  that  the 


10 


fermentations  of  the  passions,  and  the  excitements  incident  to 
he  past  controversy-,  might  become  assuaged,  and  subside  into 
calmness,  withdrew  from  further  public  action  on  the  subject, 
and  from  further  vindication  of  the  course  they  had  pursued, — 
devoting  their  attention  to  the  internal  concerns  and  the  wel- 
fare of  our  religious  Society.  Averse  to  contention  and 
strife,  a  hope  was  entertained  by  Friends,  that  in  silence  the 
mellowing  influence  of  time  and  reflection  would  allay  those 
asperities,  and  tend  to  revive  a  greater  degree  of  Christian  feel- 
ing among  those  who  had  left  us,  and  also  restore  the  exercise 
of  the  common  charities  of  life ;  infusing  into  the  social  rela- 
tions a  larger  portion  of  that  spirit  which  is  "kind,  and  thinketh 
no  evil." 

These  happy  results  have  been  expeiienced  but  to  a  very 
limited  extent.  The  spirit  which  originated  the  controversy 
and  produced  the  separation,  and  which  dictated  the  "Decla- 
ration" of  1828, — insidiously  labouring  to  prostrate  the  reli- 
gious character  of  Friends, — we  regret  to  say,  yet  continues  to 
live,  and  to  act.  Amongst  its,  a  disposition  to  forgive  and  pass 
by  the  injuries  received,  has  been  predominant.  But  some  of 
our  opponents  appear  to  have  realized  the  truth  of  the  apho- 
rism, that  '•'  he  who  inflicts  an  injury,  finds  it  more  diflicult  to 
forgive,  than  he  v?ho  receives  it."  They  therefore  continue 
to  reiterate  those  charges  which  go  to  represent  us  as  vile 
apostates  from  the  religion  of  our  fathers,  and  unworthy  of  the 
Christian  name, — as  heretics,  infidels,  &c.;  and  they  embrace 
opportunities  to  give  them  a  wide  circulation  by  means  of  the 
press. 

As  any  matter,  however  false  and  improbable,  is  apt  to  gain 
credence  by  frequent  repetition,  if  not  contradicted,  especially 
when  sustained  by  testimony  which  appears  respectable,  so, 
from  a  decent  and  proper  regard  for  the  opinions  of  mankind, 
and  in  vindication  of  the  truth  of  our  Christian  principles  and 
testimonies,  we  feel  ourselves  called  upon  to  show  that  those 
calumnious  charges  are  without  foundation  in  the  Truth.  For, 
although  no  direct  authority  is  produced  as  the  ground  of  them, 
except  the  printed  discourses  of  a  few  individuals,  and  an 
anonymous  periodical  publication,  none  of  which  have  had  the 
sanction  of  our  religious  Society,  and  therefore,  as  to  the  body 


11 


of  Friends,  they  rest  on  inference  only  ; — yet  the  principles  and 
errors  pretended  to  be  set  forth  in  them;  are  attributed  to  the 
members  generally,  and  so  published  to  the  world  in  this 
"  Declaration  "  and  other  productions. 

Sentences  or  paragraphs  may  be  extracted  from  almost  any 
book  or  writing  whatever,  and  may  be  so  arranged  and  con- 
strued as  to  convey  a  meaning  entirely  at  variance  with  the  de- 
sign or  intention  of  the  author:  and  more  especially,  when  pre- 
judice, or  a  want  of  liberality  and  kind  feeling,  guides  the  pen 
of  the  reviewer.  In  the  examination  and  exposition  of  the  fol- 
lowing charges,  the  reader  will  determine  to  what  extent  these 
remarks  are  applicable  to  the  extracts  and  assertions  quoted 
from  the  "  Declaration,"  &c.  For.  incredible  as  it  may  appear, 
when  he  considers  the  name  and  authority  (however  assumed) 
by  which  the  said  charges  have  been  published,  there  will  be 
brought  into  view,  many  palpable  perversions,  misrepresentationSj 
and  unfounded  assertions,  which  have  been  resorted  to  in  order  to 
sustain  those  charges,  that  are  preferred,  not  against  the  authors 
of  the  Sermons  and  other  woiks  only,  but  against  the  Society 
at  large. 

In  the  following  exposition,  it  will  be  manifest  to  the  candid 
and  unprejudiced  render,  tliat  by  adopting  the  same  course  of 
injustice  in  the  manner  of  making  extracts,  the  standard  writers, 
— those  who  were  made  instrumental  in  gathering  and  form- 
ing into  a  distinct  religious  community,  the  people  called 
Quakers — are  obnoxious  to  the  same  gross  and  false  imputations. 
And  he  may  also  observe  this  remarkable  coincidence, — that 
the  adversaries  of  Friends  of  that  day,  did  make  the  same  charges 
against  them,  and  resorted  to  the  same  means,  in  many  instances, 
to  effect  their  object,  which  was  to  lay  waste  their  religious 
character  and  the  testimonies  of  Truth. 

But  the  charges  brought  against  us,  are  fraught  with  greater 
injustice  and  unfairness,  than  those  against  early  Fi lends. 
The  extracts  quoted  in  the  "  Declaration,"'  are  taken  from  an 
anonymous  author,  and  from  works  published  by  a  stenogra- 
pher who  was  not  a  member,  and  whose  publications  were 
not  authorized  by  our  Society;  whereas  the  extracts  quoted  in 
the  following  Review,  are  taken  out  of  standard  works,  repeat- 


12 


edly  published  and  fully  acknowledged  by  the  Society  of 
Friends. 

Thus,  the  evidence,  such  as  it  is,  adduced  by  the  authors  of 
the  Declaration  in  support  of  the  charges  made  in  that  docu- 
ment, rests  only  against  the  three  or  four  ministers  whose  dis- 
courses thus  published  they  have  resorted  to,  and  the  anony- 
mous authors  of  the  Berean  :  and,  as  was  before  stated,  those 
charges,  as  brought  against  the  body  of  Friends,  stand  upon  no 
other  ground  than  bare  and  uncertain  inference. 

It  may  be  further  noticed,  that  an  attempt  has  been  made  in 
said  Declaration,  and  continued  in  other  publications,  to  impose 
upon  us  the  name  of  Separatists,  in  order  to  bring  us  into  re- 
proach. But  we  disclaim  any  other  distinctive  title,  than  the 
ancient  one  adopted  by  our  predecessors  in  the  Truth,  namely, 
The  Society  of  Friends  ;  being  the  same  people  both  in  doc- 
trine and  profession. 

"  Those  are  Separatists,"  says  George  Fox,  "  which  kept 
not  their  first  state,  but  left  their  habitation  in  the  Spirit.  You 
may  know  them  by  their  fruits, — their  murmuring  and  com- 
plaining,— and  their  mouths  speaking  high  swelling  words,'' 
&c. — Dodrinals,  p.  900. 

The  strictures  contained  in  this  Introduction,  and  in  the  en- 
suing Review  and  Exposition,  are  mainly  applicable  to  the 
authors  and  framers  of  the  "  Declaration."  For  it  is  believed 
that  a  large  portion  of  those  called  Orthodox  had  not  examined 
nor  understood  the  subject;  but  resting  their  confidence  in 
those  who  engaged  in  that  defamatory  work,  they  have  been 
deceived,  and,  through  a  want  of  correct  information,  have  con- 
sented to  the  adoption  and  publication  of  such  a  mass  of  false- 
hood and  calumny,  as  was  perhaps  never  before  issued  against 
any  other  religious  body. 


A  REVIEW,  &c. 


Article  I.  "  Elias  Hicks  says  :  '  If  the  Scriptures 
were  absolutely  necessary,  He  [the  Almighty]  had 
power  to  communicate  them  to  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth  ;  for  he  has  his  way,  as  a  path  in  the  clouds  ;  he 
knows  how  to  deal  out  to  all  his  rational  children.  But 
they  were  not  necessary,  and  perhaps  not  suited  to  any 
other  people,  than  they  to  Avhom  they  Avere  written/  " 
Philadelphin  Sermons,  p.  119.    Ded.  p.  17. 

That  the  Scriptures  are  not  "absolutely  necessary" 
for  salvation,  follows  incontrovertibly  from  the  funda- 
mental principle  or  tenet  of  the  people  called  Quakers, 
which  was  testified  to  by  the  evangelist  John  :  "  In 
him  [the  Word]  was  life,  and  the  life  was  the  light  of 
men."  "  That  was  the  true  Light,  which  lighteth  every 
man  that  Cometh  into  the  world."  John,  chap.  1.  "For  i 
the  grace  of  God  that  bringeth  salvation  hath  appeared 
to  all  men,  teaching  us,  that,  denying  ungodliness  and 
wordly  lusts,  we  should  live  soberly,  righteously,  and 
godly  in  this  present  world."  Tit.  ch.  2.  "  But  the 
manifestation  of  the  Spirit  is  given  to  every  man  to  profit 
withal."    1  Cor.  ch.  12. 

Now  the  Light  within,  the  grace  of  God,  and  the 
Spirit,  are  held  by  us  to  be  identical. 

That  the  Scriptures  were  not  believed  to  be  "  neces- 
sary," I  give  the  following  testimonials  from  the  wri- 
tings of  primitive  Friends: 


14 


"  The  Lord  God  opened  to  me,"  says  George  Fox, 
"  by  his  invisible  power,  how  that  every  man  was  en- 
lightened by  the  Divine  light  of  Christ.  This  I  saw  in 
the  pure  openings  of  the  Light,  without  the  help  of  any 
man  :  neither  did  I  then  know  where  to  find  it  in  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  though,  afterwards^  searching  the  Scriptures,  I 
found  it."  Journal,  vol.  1,  p.  89. 

They  that  had  not  Scripture,  had  faith, — had  the  Holy 
Ghost, — had  the  Father, — knew  the  Father, — knew 
Christ, — knew  the  Spirit.  They  that  had  the  Scriptures 
(the  Pharisees)  knew  not  the  Father, — knew  not  the  Holy 
Ghost,  nor  the  Redeemer."  "  They  [the  Scriptures]  will 
not  give  a  knowledge  of  Christ^ 

George  Fox''s  Great  Mystery,  pp.  245,  411. 

"  So  then  that  which  brought  [Pharaoh]  to  confess 
and  acknowledge  the  living  God,  without  the  letter  of 
law  or  gospel,  judgetk  you  that  say,  you  know  not  that 
there  had  been  a  God,  or  a  Christ,  without  you  had  the 
letter  to  declare  it  to  you." 

George  Fox''s  Boctrinals,  p.  338. 

"  For  I  have  known  some  of  my  friends,"  says  Ro- 
bert Barclay,  "  who  profess  the  same  faith  with  me, — 
faithful  servants  of  the  most  high  God,  and  full  of  Di- 
vine knowledge  of  his  Truth,  as  it  was  immediately  re- 
vealed to  them,  who  could  not  read  their  own  vulgar 
language, — and,  being  pressed  by  their  adversaries  with 
some  citations  out  of  the  English  translation,  and  fiinding 
them  to  disagree  vi\i\v  the  manifestation  of  Truth  in  their 
hearts,  have  boldly  affirmed,  the  Spirit  of  God  never  said 
so^  "Which,  wheni  on  this  account  seriously  examined, 
I  really  found  to  be  errors  and  corruptions  of  the  transla- 
tors.^^  Barclay''s  apology,  p.  82. 

"  This  I  witness  to  all  the  sons  of  men,  that  the  know- 


15 


ledge  of  eternal  life,  I  came  not  to  by  the  letter  of  the  Scrip' 
ture,  nor  by  hearing  men  speak  of  the  name  of  God." 

William  Dewsbury''s  Works,  p.  54. 

"  Moses  did  not  conclude  his  predecessors  ignorant 
of  the  will  of  God,  who  were  without  a  written  law  ;  nor 
did  Job  say  that  the  naked  books  of  Moses  were  able  to 
give  understanding — but  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty: 
neither  did  Christ  bid  them  read  the  Scriptures  that  the 
Father  might  be  revealed  to  them  ;  nor  the  apostles,  to 
have  recourse  to  their  writings  (then  scattered  among 
them)  as  what  would  only  reveal  to  them  the  mind  of 
God, — but  attributed  Divine  knowledge,  not  to  their  wri^ 
tings,  but  to  his  Spirit." 

William  Pejin's  Works,  vol.  2,  p.  37. 

The  apostle  John  did  not  "send  Christians  to  his 
epistles,  or  any  other  part  of  Scripture,  to  be  their  rule," 
but  "  directed  them  to  the  Anointing,  as  a  sufficient 
teacher."        Isaac  Pennington's  Works,  vol.  1,  p.  16. 

"The  Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament  never  call 
themselves  the  rule,  but  they  call  another  thing  the  rule ; 
— they  call  the  writings  of  God's  spirit  in  the  hearts  of 
his  people,  the/awsof  the  new  covenant.  (Heb.  viii.  10.) 
They  refer  to  the  Comforter  as  the  guide  into  all  truth," 

Ibid,  vol.  1,  pp.  395,  396. 

"  That  which  was  spoken  from  the  spirit  of  Truth  in 
any,  is  of  as  great  authority  as  the  Scriptures  or  chap- 
ters are,  and  greater,  as  proceeding  immediately  from 
that  Spirit,  as  Christ's  words  were  of  greater  authority 
when  he  spoke,  than  the  Pharisees'  reading  the  letter." 

George  Whitehead. 

"  And  it  [the  Spirit]  was  the  rule  to  the  prophets, — 
to  Christ, — and  to  the  holy  apostles  :  they  all  followed 


16 


the  Spirit,  and  walked  in  it,  and  spake,  and  wrought, 
and  acted,  as  the  Spirit  of  God  within  them  moved  them 
and  led  themj  it  was  not  the  Scriptures,  but  the  Spirit 
that  gave  forth  the  Scriptures,  that  was  the  standing, 
unchangeable,  unerring  rule  of  worshipping,  serving,  and 
obeying  the  Lord  God  ; — and  that  same  Spirit  is  the 
standing  rule  to  us  alsoy 

Edward  Burrough''s  Works,  p.  484. 

"  An  opponent  saith,  the  Scripture  was  given  by  the 
Spirit  for  a  rule.  This  we  desire  a  proof  of  by  plain 
scripture,  and  till  then,  we  deny  it." 

Richard  Huhberihorn^s  Works,  p.  145. 

"  God  changeth  not :  and  where  doth  the  Scripture 
say,  that  the  Scripture  is  to  be  a  rule  to  walk  or  be  led 
by  1 "  Humphrey  Smith'' s  Works,  p.  150. 

"  Had  he  [Christ]  intended  the  rule  of  his  followers 
to  have  been  a  written  rule,  he  Avould  have  left  it  upon 
record  with  all  punctuality :  '  This  must  be  believed, 
and  that  done,  on  pain  of  eternal  death.'  Nor  did  his 
followers  write  in  the  method  of  a  rule,  as  the  law  was 
written  ;  nor  did  they  so  call,  or  recommend  what  they 
wrote."  Christian  Quaker,  p.  233. 

The  foregoing  quotations  say,  that  the  Scriptures  are 
not  necessary ;  that  they  will  not  give  us  a  knowledge 
of  Christ ;  that  they  are  neither  the  rule,  nor  a  rule  ;  nor 
are  they  adapted,  or  "  suited  "  to  be  such, — not  being 
written  "  in  the  method  of  a  rule  ;"  nor  did  Christ  in- 
tend them  to  be  a  rule,  neither  did  his  disciples  recom- 
mend them  as  such  ;  that  the  Spirit  alone  was  and  re- 
mains to  be  the  rule ;  that  by  this,  men  who  could  not 


17 


read  have  detected  errors  in  the  Scriptures ;  and  that 
"  what  is  spoken  from  the  Spirit  in  any,  is  of  as  great, 
and  gi'eater  aui /writ y  than  the  Scriptures,  because  coming 
immediately  from  the  Spirit." 

That  the  Old  Covenant  was  peculiarly  adapted  to  the 
nation  of  the  Jews,  will  not  be  disputed ;  and  that  such 
parts  of  the  New  Testament  as  have  reference  to  the 
Jews  and  Jewish  converts,  are  not  adapted  to  the  Gen- 
tiles, or  to  their  particular  state,  is  equally  clear.  But 
that  those  parts  of  both  the  Old  and  the  New  Testa- 
ment, which  treat  of  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  or  that 
are  typical  of  them,  are  not  adapted  to  us  Gentiles, — is 
not  what  the  Sermons  intended  to  say.  This  is  proved  by 
the  fact,  that  they  appeal  or  refer  to  them  in  almost 
every  page,  in  confirmation  of  the  principles  inculcated 
in  these  discourses.  That  they  were  written  by  in- 
spired men,  is  nowhere  denied,  but  often  asserted. 


Article  II.  In  this  article  I  give  a  part  of  the  con- 
text, as  necessary  to  a  clear  understanding  of  the 
speaker, — inclosing  in  brackets  the  detached  sentence 
quoted  by  the  Declaration,  page  17. 

"We  find  that,  although  these  things  are  so  plainly 
written  in  the  book  which  we  call  the  Bible,  yet  we 
feel  and  know  certainly,  that  there  is  no  power  in  it  to 
enable  us  to  put  in  practice  what  is  therein  written. 
[One  would  suppose  that,  to  a  rational  mind,  the  hearing 
and  reading  of  the  instructive  parables  of  Jesus,  would 
have  a  tendency  to  reform,  and  turn  men  about  to  truth 
and  lead  them  on  in  it.  But  they  have  7io  such  e^ert."] 
In  the  following  paragraph  he  says,  "  We  may  read  of 
2  * 


18 


this ;  but  has  the  letter  ever  turned  any  one  to  the  right 
thing,  unless  the  Light,  opening  it  to  the  understanding,  has 
helped  him  to  put  in  practice  what  the  letter  dictates." 

Philadelphia  Sermon,  p.  129. 

Thus,  the  meaning  intended  to  be  conveyed  by  the 
speaker,  is  clearly  this,  that  the  letter  merely,  without 
the  "  Light,"  or  Spirit,  will  not  reform  us. 

The  apostle  Paul  says,  "For  the  letier  killeth,  but  the 
Spirit  giveth  life."  2  Cor.  iii.  6. 

"  The  letter  is  carnal,  and  killeth." 

George  Fox''s  Great  Mystery,  p.  594. 

In  like  manner  Isaac  Pennington  :  "  The  letter  read 
out  of  the  spirit,  darkeneth  and  killeth,"  Vol  2,  p.  19. 
Now  that  which  darkeneth  and  killeth  can  have  "  no 
tendency  "  to  give  light,  or  life  ;  unless  the  same  cause 
can  produce  contrary  effects. 

What  kind  of  knowledge  (Isaac  Pennington  asks) 
wilt  thou  gather  from  the  Scripture '!  Not  a  knowledge 
that  will  humble  thee,  and  cleanse  thine  heart  ;  but  a 
knowledge  that  will  puff  thee  up,  and  fit  thee  for  the 
slaughter." 

/.  Penmngton''s  Works,  vol.  1,  pp.  140,  141. 


Article  III.  "  They  have  been  so  bound  up  in  the 
letter,  that  they  think  they  must  attend  to  it,  to  the 
exclusion  of  every  thing  else.  Here  is  an  abominable 
idol  worship  of  a  thing  without  any  life  ut  all, — a  dead 
?nonument." 

This  sentence  is  extracted  from  the  middle  of  a  para- 
graph ;  I  here  present  the  whole  :  "  0  that  the  spirit 


19 


that  dwelt  in  David  might  dwell  in  us  ;  that,  from  a 
sense  of  our  impotence  and  weakness,  our  prayers  might 
ascend  like  his  ;  '  Lord,  show  me  my  secret  faults.'  And 
what  are  these  faults  that  are  so  various,  and  so  many'? 
Why  some  are  led  away  to  the  worship  of  images,  by 
being  deceived  and  turned  aside  by  tradition  and 
books  :  they  worship  other  gods  beside  the  true  God. 
[They  have  been  so  hound  up  in  the  letter,  that  they 
think  they  must  attend  to  it  to  the  exclusion  of  every 
thing  else.  Here  is  an  abominable  idol-worship  of  a 
thing  without  any  life  at  all, — a  dead  monument !]  Oh! 
that  our  minds  might  be  enlightened, — that  our  hearts 
might  be  opened, — that  we  might  know  the  difference 
between  thing  and  thing.  Most  of  the  worship  in 
Christendom  is  idolatry, — ^dark  and  blind  idolatry  ;  for 
all  oiuward  -worship  is  so,— it  is  a  mere  worship  of 
images.  For,  if  we  make  an  image,  merely  in  imagin- 
tion,  it  is  an  idol,"       Philad,  Sermon,  pp.  129,  130. 

There  is  nothing  here  intended  or  said  against  the 
right  use  of  the  Scriptures.  It  is  against  the  abuse  of 
them  only, — "  to  the  exclusion  of  every  thing  else," — 
an  entire  dependence  on  them,  excluding  the  illumina- 
tion of  the  Spirit,  &c. 

Thus  Isaac  Pennington  :  "  In  my  reading  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, I  lay  open  to  this  great  snare,  of  reading  in  my 
own  will,  and  gathering  from  thence  in  my  own  under- 
standing ;  and  so  growing  wise  concerning  the  things 
of  God  after  the  flesh.  For  though  at  this  time  I  was 
not  without  living  knowledge  and  experience  of  God, 
yet  I  knew  not  how  to  turn  from  the  death,  nor  to  keep 
to  the  life  ;  and  so  the  bad,  the  lean,  the  earthly,  the  ill- 
favoured,  overgrew  the  good  and  well-pleasing  to  God, 
and  brought  it  into  bitter  misery  arid  death.'''' 

W(yrks,vo\.  2,  p.  310. 


20 


Thus  also  Samuel  Fisher  :  "  So  then,  as  to  evince  it 
that  I  am  none  of  those  idiots  that  idolize  any  mere 
men's  writings,  as  many  do  the  unskilful  scrihblings  of 
their  scribes  for  the  Scriptures,  little  less  than  Israel 
did  the  golden  calves  after  which  they  dotingly  ran 
from  God  himself,  saying  of  these  images  in  their  own 
imaginations,  '  These  are  thy  gods,'  &c. :  nor  yet  any 
mere  writings  of  those  holy  men  that  wrote  the  holy  scrip- 
ture itself,  as  most  of  our  misty  ministers  and  their 
people  do,  because  they  were  written  by  Divine  inspira- 
tion,— little  less  than  Israel  did  the  brazen  serpent,  be- 
cause it  was  hung  up  by  Divine  institution:  I  shall  first 
take  occasion  to  thrust  down  that  enthroned  calf  of  thy 
anti-scriptural  tribulary,  treatises  and  thesis,  atheologi- 
cal  thoughts  upon  the  Scripture, — from  that  high  place 
it  hath  in  the  thoughts  of  such  as  fall  down  before  it, — 
as  Moses  threw  down  that  molten  image  (which  the 
high  priest  made,  and  ignorant  people  made  a  god  of) 
and  stampt  it  to  powder.  And  secondly,  as  Hezekiah, 
not  without  God's  own  approbation,  took  down  the  bra- 
zen serpent,  which  had  its  being  (as  the  holy  scripture 
itself  had)  not  without  God's  own  appointment,  when 
once  men  began  to  do  homage  to  it,  and  called  it  more 
than  J^ehushtan, — that  is,  a  piece  of  brass,  that  they 
might  know  it  was  no  God :  So  shall  I  take  down  the  dead 
corpse^  and  hare  carcass  of  the  best  copy  of  the  Scripture, 
since  men  begin  to  go  a  whoring  after  it  from  God  and 
Christ,  and  the  Word  of  life  itself — out  of  that  high  and 
stately  throne  whei-ein  thou,  T.  Owen,  statest  it.'''' 

Samuel  Fisher's  Works,  pp.  239,  240. 

Article  IV.  "  The  great  and  only  thing  needful, 
then,  is  to  turn  inward,  and  turn  our  back  upon  the  letter, 
for  it  is  all  shadow,^'        Philadelphia  Sermon,  p.  225. 


21 


To  this  short  sentence  I  will  add  what  immediately 
follows :  "  Oh  !  let  us  turn  to  the  substance  ;  for  even  the 
letter  that  is  most  correctly  written,  is  doing  only  the 
same  thing  that  I  am  now  endeavouring  to  have  you  do, 
to  tU7-n  inward.  It  never  proposes  to  do  us  any  good. 
It  can  do  no  more  than  to  turn  us  to  that  which  can  do 
us  good, — to  the  immortal  power  revealed  in  our  souls; 
by  the  rtvelatton  of  which  those  introductory  letters  have 
been  written.''^ 

"The  law,  or  letter,"  says  Robert  Barclay,  "which  is 
without  us,  kills  ;  but  the  gospel,  which  is  the  inward, 
spiritual  law,  gives  life  ;  for  it  consists  not  so  much  in 
words,  as  in  virtue." 

"But  the  letter  of  Scripture  is  outward, — of  itself  a 
dead  thing, — a  mere  declaration  of  good  things,  but  not 
the  things  themselves." 

Apology,  Prop.  3,  Sec.  2. 

"  Oh !  Christians,  Christians !"  exclaims  Isaac  Pen- 
nington, "  Oh  !  that  ye  could  see  how  your  understand- 
ings and  knowledge,  from  the  lettei*,  stand  as  much  in 
your  way,  as  ever  the  Jews'did  in  theirs  ;  and  must  be 
broken  down  as  flat  as  ever  theirs  was, — before  the  foun- 
dation of  the  kingdom  can  be  laid,  and  the  building  of 
eternal  life  reared  up  in  your  hearts." 

Pejinington's  Works,  vol  2,  p.  36. 

Again:  "  The  gospel  is  the  swistoTice  of  all  the  sha- 
dows contained  in  the  law:  a  Christian  is  he  that  comes 
into  this  substance,  and  lives  in  this  substance,  and  in 
whom  this  substance  lives;  and  hu  rule  is  the  substance 
itself,  in  which  he  lives,  and  which  lives  in  him.  Christ 
is  the  substance  who  lives  in  the  Christian,  and  he  in 
Christ :  Christ  lives  in  him  by  his  spirit,  and  he  in 


22 


Christ  by  the  same  spirit.  There  he  lives,  and  hath 
fellowship  with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  in  the  Light 
wherein  thexj  live,  and  not  by  an  outward  rule.'''' 

Ibid,  vol.  1,  p.  14. 

"  Is  Christ  in  yovi,  and  shall  he  not  hold  the  rein  and 
rule  %  Shall  the  living  Word  be  in  the  heart, — and  not 
the  rule  of  the  heart  1  Shall  he  speak  in  the  heart,  and 
man  or  woman  in  whom  he  speaks,  run  to  the  words  of 
Scripture,  formerly  spoken,  to  know  whether  these  be  his 
words  or  nol  Nay,  nay  :  his  sheep  know  his  voice  bet- 
ter than  so."  Ibid,  p.  16. 

"  But,  poor  man,  having  lost  the  life,  what  should  he 
do  1  He  can  do  no  other  but  cry  up  the  letter,  and  make 
as  good  shift  with  it  as  he  can ;  though  his  soul,  the 
mean  while,  is  starved,  and  lives  m  famine  and  death,  for 
the  want  of  the  bread  of  life,  and  a  wrong  thing  is  fed  on.^^ 

Ibid,  p.  19. 

"But  this  I  dare  boldly  affirm,  that  men's  reading  of 
the  Scriptures  in  their  own  wisdom  and  self-confidence 
(or  confidence  of  what  interpretation  others  have  given) 
doth  them  no  good  at  all,  but  much  harm  ;  tending  to  the 
building  up  of  that  which  God  will  again  destroy.'''' 

Ibid,  p.  69. 


Article  V.  "  Now  the  book  we  read  in  says, 
'  Search  the  Scriptures.'  But  this  is  incorrect  ;  we  must 
all  see  it  is  incorrect ;  because  we  have  all  reason  to  be- 
lieve they  read  the  Scriptures,  and  hence  they  accused 
Jesus  of  being  an  impostor." 

Philadelphia  Sermon,  p.  314. 

The  remainder  of  the  paragraph,  as  in  other  cases,  is 
withheld ;  it  is  as  follows :  "  They  were  more  intent 


23 


upon  reading  the  Scriptures,  than  any  other  people  un- 
der heaven.  They  read  them,  thinking  that  through, 
them  they  could  become  wise  by  the  letter." 

Archbishop  Sandys,  in  his  sermons,  confirms  this  as- 
sertion. He  says,  "  The  precise  Pharisees,  the  learned 
scribes,  read  the  Scriptures  over  and  over  again.  They 
not  only  read  them  in  books,  but  wore  them  on  their 
garments  :  they  were  not  only  taught,  but  were  able  to 
teach  others.  But  because  the  heavenly  Teacher  had 
not  instructed  them,  their  understanding  was  darkenedj 
their  knowledge  was  but  vanity." 

Robert  Barclay  thinks  "  ye  search,  &c."  the  more  gen- 
nine  trafislation  ;  and  Purver  so  translates  it.  Of  this 
text,  Adam  Clark,  learned  in  the  Greek  language_,  hesi- 
tates not  to  affirm  that  the  text  "  should  be  translated," 
'  Ye  search  the  Scriptures  diligently  :'  and  adds,  "  Per- 
haps the  Scriptures  were  never  more  diligently  searched 
tlian  at  that  very  time."  And  he  further  says,  "  That 
these  words  are  commonly  read  in  the  imperative  mood, 
is  sufficiently  known  J  but  this  reading  can  never  accord 
well  with  the  following  verse,  nor  can  the  force  and 
energy  of  the  words  be  perceived  by  this  version." 

The  compilers  of  The  Declaration  have  found,  in  five 
or  six  volumes  of  sermons,  one  single  text  pronounced 
by  Elias  Hicks  to  be  wrongly  translated,  or  "incorrect;" 
and  in  their  summary,  they  add  this  to  their  spurious 
list  of  charges,  and  tell  their  readers  that  "  the  Separa- 
tists and  their  ministers''''  assert  that  "  the  direction  of 
our  Lord  to  search  them  [the  Scriptures]  is  not  cor- 
rect." Did  they  not  know  what  I  have  stated  above, 
respecting  this  text  1  Had  they  not  read  what  Robert 
Barclay  says  of  the  Scriptures, — that  "  they  need  to  be 


24 


corrected  and  Vixe  subject  "  to  many  uncertainties  ?"  Nor 
the  citation  by  George  Fox  of  more  than  twenty  pas- 
sages, corrupted  by  the  translators  1 

See  Great  Mystery,  page  581. 


Article  VI.  "  He  [.Tesus]  does  not  move  us  in  the 
least  degree  to  any  book,  or  writing  whatever,  but  leaves 
every  thing  outward  entirely  behind,  as  having  passed 
by  ;  for  he  abolished  all  external  evide7ice,  as  not  being 
capable  of  bringing  about  salvation  to  the  soul." 

See  Quaker,  E.  Hicks''  Sermon,  vol.  2,  p.  264. 

This  is  a  comment  on  that  which  immediately  pre- 
cedes, to  wit :  "  He  will  lead  and  guide  into  all  truth  ; 
he  shall  teach  you  all  things,  and  bring  all  things  to 
your  remembrance.  Here  then  is  the  teacher,  the  way, 
and  the  medium  whereby  we  can  come  to  know  God  by 
his  own  presence  in  ourselves,  through  his  life-giving 
presence.  And  here  Jesus  tells  us,  that  this  is  all  and 
every  thing  that  we  have  to  do,  and  all  that  man  needs. 
[He  does  not  move  us  in  the  least  degree  to  any  book 
or  writing  whatever,  but  leaves  every  thing  outward," 
&c.] 

The  fundamental  doctrine  of  the  Society  of  Friends, — 
the  light  of  Christ  in  the  soul, — enlightening  every  man 
coming  into  the  world;  the  only  true  witness  for  God 
placed  in  man,  is  far  superior  to  all  "  external  evidence," 
in  the  work  of  salvation.  Without  this  to  open  the 
understanding,  the  Scriptures  (as  affirmed  in  the  fore- 
going quotations)  are  a  dead  letter.    They  refer  us  to  this 


25 


intemal  evidence  ;  but  if  the  outward  evidence  which  they 
give,  is  relied  on  and  rested  in,  darkness  and  death  will 
be  the  consequence,  "I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  he  will 
give  you  another  Comforter;"  as  much  as  to  say,  your 
Comforter  hitherto  has  been  an  outward  one, — an  outward 
administration  and  dispensation, — an  "  outward  evidenced 
All  this  I  am  about  to  abolish,  and  to  give  you  an  inward 
wiTr^Ess, — even  "  the  Spirit  of  truth," — that  he  "  may 
abide  with  you  for  ever  ;"  and  "  he  shall  be  in  you,  "  and 
"he  will  guide  you  into  all  truth." 

Thus  also  the  apostle  :  "  He  that  believeth  hath  the 
witness  [the  evidence]  in  himself."  And  again:  "Ye 
need  not  that  any  man  teach  you,  but  as  the  same  anoint- 
ing teacheth  you  of  all  things." 

It  was  to  this  standard,  inscribed  with  the  emphatic 
injunction,  "Mind  the  Light,"  that  George  Fox,  in  a 
dark  and  dissolute  age,  was  enabled,  under  God,  to  rally 
and  gather  the  people  called  Quakers.  "  The  external 
(says  he)  reaches  rao  further  than  the  external."  {Great 
Mystery,  vol.  3,  p.  62.)  "I  was  brought  off  from  out- 
ward things,"  (thus  he  speaks  in  his  journal)  "  to  rely 
on  the  Lord  alone."  i 

William  Penn,  in  the  Christian  Quaker,  pp.  233-4-, 
says,  "  Christ  left  nothing  in  writing,  for  the  rule  of 
faith  and  practice,  that  w^e  hear  of ;  and  it  is  not  to  be 
thought  that  he  was  less  faithful  in  his  house  than  Moses; 
and  doubtless  had  he  intended  the  rule  of  his  followers 
to  have  been  a  written  rule,  [external  evidence,]  he  would 
have  left  it  upon  record  with  all  punctuality:  '  This  must 
be  believed,  and  that  done,  on  pain  of  eternal  death.'  " 
The  law  written  by  Moses  was  a  rule  to  the  Jew  out- 
ward, yet  Christ,  the  leader  of  a  spiritual  Israel,  writeth 

3 


26 


his  spiritual  law  in  the  heart;  as  Moses,  the  outwara 
Israel's  leader,  wrote  the  law  upon  tables  of  stone.  This 
was  God's  promise,  and  the  privilege  of  the  neiocofenaJit, 
that  as  the  outward  Jew  had  an  outward  law  for  a  direc- 
tory, the  inward  Jew  should  have  an  inward  law  for  his 
directory.  And  as  the  outward  Jew  had  an  outward 
priest,  at  whose  mouth  he  ought  to  seek  the  law ;  so  the 
Jew  inward  and  circumcised  in  spirit,  has  an  inward  and 
spiritual  high  priest,  whose  lips  preserve  knowledge, — 
at  whose  mouth  he  is  to  receive  the  law  of  life.  And 
this  is  his  rw/e,  even  he  who  is  the  ruler  of  his  people 
Israel ;  who  reigneth  in  righteousness,  and  of  whose 
heavenly  government  there  shall  be  no  end.  The  king, 
ruler,  judge,  lawrgiver,  high-priest,  law,  rule,  temple, 
ARE  At^.  SPIRITUAL.  So  the  Scripturcs  inform  us.  "  My 
kingdom,"  saidChrist,  "is  not  of  this  world."  Again: 
"  The  kingdom  of  God  is  uv'Mm."  "  I  will  write  my 
law  in  their  hearts,  and  place  my  fear  in  their  inward 
parts."  Heb.  viii.  10.  "  They  shall  be  all  taught  of  me; 
and  in  righteousness  shall  they  be  established."  "The 
tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men ;  he  will  dwell  in  them.'''' 
Rev.  xxi.  3.  "  I  will  pour  out  my  spirit  on  all  flesh." 
Joel  ii.  28.  "  The  grace  hath  appeared  unto  all  men, 
teaching,"  &c.  Tit.  ii.  12.  "  The  manifestation  of  the 
Spirit  is  given  to  every  man,  to  profit  withal."  "The 
inspiration  of  the  Almighty  giveth  understanding." 
"  Whatsoever  may  be  known  of  God  is  manifest  within." 
Rom.  i.  19.  "  Walk  in  the  Spirit."  Gal.  v.  16.  "  If 
ye  walk  in  the  light,"  &c.,  1  John  i.  7. 


Article  VII.  "JVo  experience  will  ever  he  worth  any 
thing  to  us,  which  is  not  our  own  experience,  begotten 
through  the  influence  of  the  blessed  Spirit  of  God." 

Nev^  York  Sermons,  p.  123. 


27 


The  sermon  here  tells  us,  that  we  are  not  to  depend 
on  the  experience  of  others,  or  the  testimony  of  othersj 
that  a  mere  belief  of  the  report  of  others,  will  do  nothing 
for  us  /  that  we  must  come  to  experience  the  work  of 
salvation  in  and  for  ourselves.  And  is  not  this  a  weighty 
and  undeniable  truth  1  "  This  knowledge,  then,  of 
Christ,"  (says  Robert  Barclay,)  "  which  is  not  by  the 
revelation  of  his  own  spirit  in  the  heart,  is  no  more  pro- 
perly the  knowledge  of  Christ,  than  the  prattling  of  a 
parrot,  which  has  been  taught  a  few  words,  may  be  said 
to  be  the  voice  of  a  man."  Hugh  Turford  says,  "Paul 
went  not  up  to  Jerusalem — but  in  the  strength  of  the 
Lord.  With  a  book  of  exjjerience  in  his  heart,  instead 
of  a  Bible  in  his  hand,  he  went  into  Arabia  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  the  heathen." 

"In  this  is  the  distinction  between  the  true  believer  and 
the  false;  the  true  believer  hath  the  spirit  of  prophecy, 
the  witness  in  himself.  (1  John  v.  10.)  The  false  be- 
liever hath  but  i\\e  outward  iGst'imowy ,  ox  relation  of  things, 
but  not  the  inward  substance,  the  covenant  and  law  of  life 
within.''''         Isaac  Pennington's  Works,  vol.  2,  p.  177. 

"  The  Scriptures  we  highly  value  ;  but  we  believe  not 
the  things  we  often  quote  thence  to  be  true,  only  because 
there;  but  for  that  we  are  witnesses  of  the  same  operatio7i, 
and  bring  in  our  experimental  testimonies,  to  confirm 
the  truth  of  theirs;  and  such  truly  honour  the  scriptures: 
all  others  are  at  best  but  emptij  scribes,  and  pharisaical 
babblers.''^  Christian  Quaker,  p.  222. 


Article  VIII.  "  Thomas  Wetherald,  at  an  irregular 
meeting  held  at  Green  Street,  says:  'And  I  want  us, 
therefore,  inour  investigation  of  spiritual  things,  to  bring 


28 


spiritual  evidence,  to  prove  spiritual  trutlis.  Let  us  attend 
to  spiritual  reflections,  and  not  be  looking  to  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  to  the  systems  of  men,  and  to  the  words  of 
preachers  ;  for  all  these,  being  of  an  external  character, 
can  only  form  an  ignis  faiuus,  which  leads  to  bewilder, 
and  dazzles  to  blind.'  "  Quaker,  vol.  2,  p.  217. 

Here  again,  great  injustice  is  done  to  the  author  by  a 
partial  extract.  In  the  next  sentence  he  says,  "Yet  this 
is  the  summum  bonum,  or  light  and  power,  which  many  are 
depending  on."  Here  the  paragrnph  ends.  In  the  next, 
he  says,  "  A  comparison  has  struck  my  mind,  since 
standing  among  you,  which  may  be  illustralive  of  my 
views  in  relation  to  the  Scriptures  of  truth,  and  all  other 
external  evidence.  They  may  be  compared  to  the  light 
of  the  moon,  and  lesser  luminaries.  The  moon  and 
other  secondaries  shine  by  horrowedlight  y  and  if  the  sun 
does  not  illuminate  them,  they  must  remain  opake  bodies." 

This  is  too  plain  to  be  mistaken.  "  Many  are  depend- 
ing" on  the  Scriptures,  without  the  light  of  the  sun  of 
righteousness  to  open  their  understandings  ;  therefore,  to 
such  as  read  or  study  them  without  the  aid  of  this  light, 
they  are  an  ^'■opake  body,"  an  "  ignis  fatuus."  Tlie  authors 
of  the  Declaration  had  this  clear  illustration  before  them; 
yet,  in  the  very  face  of  such  evidence  that  Thomas 
Wetherald  meant  no  more  than  what  Robert  Barclay, 
George  Fox,  William  Penn,  Isaac  Pennington,  and  many 
others,  had  affirmed,  that  the  letter,  of  itself,  without 
the  Spirit,  "  darkeneth  and  killeth  ;"  yet,  in  summing 
up  their  list  of  charges,  they  state,  not  that  Thoinas 
Wetherald  only,  but  '■Hhe  separatists  and  their  ministers," 
assert  that  they  [the  Scriptures]  "  only  form  an  ignis 
fatuus,  which  leads  to  bewilder,  and  dazzles  to  blind;" 
whilst  they  withhold  from  the  reader  the  explanation 
which  accompanies  the  detached  sentence. 


29 


Article  IX.  "  In  accordance  with  the  above  senti- 
ments,^'' (continues  the  Declaration,)  "  concerning  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  the  Berean  says,  '  In  vain  does  any  man 
quote  the  Scriptures  as  authority  for  his  opinions  ;  for  if 
they  have  not  been  immediately  revealed  to  his  own 
mind  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  deserve  no  better  name 
as  it  respects  him,  than  speculations.''  "  Vol.  2,  p.  211. 

This  charge  bears  the  same  stamp  as  the  preceding 
one.  All  knowledge  and  opinions  drawn  from  Scripture, 
independent  of  immediate  revelation, — that  is,  without  the 
aid  and  illumination  of  the  Spirit, — are  "  vainj"  (which  is 
the  sense  of  the  passage)  and  even  worse.  Such  know- 
ledge or  opinions,  according  to  Robert  Barclay  and  many 
others  whom  I  have  quoted,  "darkeneth  and  killeth."  The 
great  niunber  of  sects,  into  which  the  Christian  world  is 
divided,  with  their  discordant  creeds  founded  on  such 
knowledge  and  opinions,  illustrate  the  truth  of  the  "sen- 
timents" expressed  in  the  extract. 

"  Ye  search  the  Scriptures,  for  in  them  ye  think  ye 
have  eternal  life ;  yet  ye  will  not  come  unto  me  that  ye 
might  have  life.'''' 

"And  this  knowledge  is  also  revealed  in  the  Scrip- 
ture," said  Isaac  Pennington,  "  but  they  [Christians]  are 
so  drowned  in  the  letter,  wherewith  the  carnal  part  is 
so  filled,  that  the  spiritual  eye  cannot  open  in  them  to 
see  ;  so  that  which  was  ordained  for  life,  becomes  death 
to  them,  and  they  perish."    Vol.  1,  p.  140. 

"It  is  no  more  the  knowledge  of  Christ,"  says  Robert 
Barclay,  "than  the  prattling  of  a  parrot  may  be  said  to 
be  the  voice  of  a  man."  Such  William  Penn  declares 
"  are  at  best  but  empty  scribes  and  pharisaical  babblers." 

Bishop  Jewel  says,  "Flesh  and  blood  is  not  able  to 
understand  the  holy  will  of  God,  without  special  revela- 

3* 


30 


tion  ;"  and  that  "  without  this  special  help  and  prompt- 
ings of  God's  spirit,  the  Scripture  is  to  the  reader,  be 
he  never  so  wise  and  well-learned,  as  the  vision  of  a 
sacred  book."       Jewel  against  Hardi?ig,  pp.  532,  534i. 


Article  X.  The  Declaration  quotes  from  the  Berean 
thus :  "  Those  revelations  were  for  other  times  and 
other  states,  and  not  for  us  ;  they  belong  to  those  to 
whom  they  were  immediately  revealed.  And  that,  and 
only  that  which  is  immediately  revealed  to  us,  belongs  in 
like  manner  to  us,  and  to  us  only.'''' 

Berean,  vol.  2,  p.  212. 

In  this  extract,  the  words,  "  those  revelations,"  will 
suggest  to  the  reader  the  inquiry,  what  revelations  are 
here  referred  to  \  Now,  as  the  authors  of  the  Declara- 
tion have  seen  meet  to  withhold  from  him  this  requisite 
information,  I  here  give  it  as  follows : 

"  All  that  is  given  us  to  A:;iowonthis  subject,  [rewards 
and  punishments]  is,  that  our  heavenly  Father  hath  so 
formed  us,  that  a  state  of  happiness  is  inseparably  con- 
nected with  virtue,  and  misery  with  vice,  and  this  is 
doubtless  enough  for  us  to  know.  This  established  order  of 
things  has  been  called  rewards  and  punishments ;  but  what- 
ever idea  has  been  formed  in  the  mind,  as  to  the  extent 
and  meaning  of  these  terms,  all  that  we  certainly  know, 
or  that  is  revealed  to  us  on  the  subject,  is  what  I  have 
expressed  in  the  above  sentence,  [that  is,  inward  peace 
for  doing  right,  and  remorse  for  doing  wrong.]  Theo- 
logical speculators,  who  have  Avritten  on  the  subject,  hav  • 
given  to  punishments  a  vindictive  character,  and  made 
an  infinitely  good  and  merciful  Being  the  immediate 
author  and  contriver  of  them,  [punishments,]  thus  reek- 


31 


ing  his  verigeance  on  the  wicked.  And,  indeed,  if  we  are 
to  accept  the  Scriptures  as  a  Divine  revelation  to  us,  as 
the  author  under  review  would  seem  to  imply,  there  is 
much  to  be  found  in  those  writings  to  confirm  and  es- 
tablish such  views.  But  when  we  reflect  that  our  bene- 
ficent Creator,  in  his  dealings  with  mankind,  has,  in  infi- 
nite condescension,  adaptedh'is  instructions  to  their  state 
AND  COMPREHENSION,  wc  inay  safely  reject  the  speculations 
of  these  writers  when  they  cite  such  scriptures,  and  give 
them  a  literal  application  as  containing  the  "  truths  of 
God ;"  and  that  without  derogating  from  their  genuine- 
ness or  authenticity,  [Those  revelations  were  for  other 
times,  and  other  states,  and  not  for  us.  They  belonged 
to  those  to  whom  they  were  immediately  revealed.  And 
that  and  only  that  which  is  immediately  revealed  to  us, 
belongs  in  like  manner  to  us,  and  to  us  only."] 

Berean,  vol.  2,  p.  212. 

The  Berean  here  says,  that  the  Creator  adapts  his 
instructions,  or  revelations,  to  the  states  and  comprehen- 
sions of  men ;  and  that  which  is  revealed  to  us,  belongs 
to  us  (or  each  of  us)  only,  &c.  All  Divine  knowledge 
that  is  saving,  comes  by  the  light  of  Christ  within.  The 
Scriptures  convey  not  this  knowledge  without  the  aid 
of  the  Light  opening  them  to  the  understanding ;  and 
that  which  is  thus  immediately  revealed  to  each  indivi- 
dual, "  belongs"  to  him  exclusively  ;  teaching  him  what 
his  duty  is  to  his  Creator,  to  his  fellow-creatures,  and 
to  himself.  Every  man  coming  into  the  world,  is  thus 
enlightened,  or  receives  a  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  to 
profit  withal.  These  revelations  are  special  to  each 
one  ;  are  adapted  to  his  particular  state  and  need  ;  and 
thus  minister  to  his  wants,  for  his  own  use  and  benefit, 
and  not  for  another.    This  is  the  doctrine  or  religion  of 


32 


Friends.  Hence  the  Berean  says,  "  That  which  is  im- 
mediately revealed  to  us,  belongs  to  us,  and  to  us  only.'''' 

From  the  above  quotation  it  appears, ^rs<;  That  the  Be- 
rean does  not  consider  the  Scriptures,  in  a  strict  sense, 
a  revelation  to  us;  hut  rather  the  history  of  a  revelation 
or  revelations  made  to  others.  The  admitted  principle, 
that  the  Spirit  that  gave  them  forth,  is  necessary  to  open 
them  to  our  understandings,  conveys  the  savie  idea. 
Robert  Barclay  says:  "We  do  not  plead  for  a  new  gos- 
pel, but  for  a  new  revelation  of  the  good  old  gospel  and 
doctrines,"  (or  words  of  like  import.)  In  like  manner 
William  Penn:  That  which  is  "  immediately  revealed  by 
the  eternal  Spirit,  is  the  only  true  revelation,  and  the 
Scriptures  but  a  godly  tradition.'''' 

Works,  vol.  2,  folio,  p.  37. 

Second:  That  those  revelations  which  represent  the 
Deity  as  vindictive,  revengeful,  &c.,  are  not  to  be  literally 
construed  by  us, — are  not  adapted  to  our  state,  who  have 
more  exalted  views  and  clearer  apprehensions  of  the  all- 
perfect  and  glorious  attributes  of  God,  than  the  Israelites 
had.  In  this  sense,  therefore,  "  those  revelations"  do 
not  "belong  to  us,"  because  not  true  to  our  state.  Wm. 
Penn,  in  his  "Primitive  Christianity  Revived,"  chapter 
7,  presents  the  same  view,  thus :  "  He  has  condescended, 
for  the  hardness  and  darkness  of  men's  hearts,  to  ap- 
proach and  spell  out  his  holy  mind  to  them  by  low  and 
carnal  ways,  as  they  may  appear  to  our  more  enlightened 
understandings  ;  suffering  truths  to  put  on  diverse  sorts  of 
garments,  the  better  to  reach  the  low  state  of  men,"  &c. 

Third:  The  Berean  admits  the  genuineness  and  au- 
thenticity of  those  revelations  spoken  of ; — the  question 
involved,  therefore,  is  the  construction,  not  the  denial  of 
them :  and  in  departing  from  the  letter  and  adopting  a 
construction  in  conformity  with  other  parts  of  Scripture 


33 


where  the  Divine  attributes  are  spoken  of,  he  has  only 
exercised  a  discretion,  and  followed  an  example  sus- 
tained by  the  highest  authorities. 


The  next  extract  in  the  Declaration,  is  also  taken 
from  the  Berean,  and  is  as  follows  : 

Article  XI.  "  Now  the  revelations  respecting  the 
nature  of  God,  which  were  made  to  the  Israelites,  are 
true  when  viewed  as  in  connection  with,  and  as  having 
relation  to  their  spiritual  condition  ;  but  to  any  other 
state,  they  are  not  true  /  therefore,  such  revel  at  ions, ah' 
stractedly  taken,  are  not  true  in  themselves, — are 
NOT  THE  truth  OF  GoD,"  Vol.  1,  p.  403. 

Here  is  another  passage,  detached  from  the  context  which 
furnishes  an  explanation,  and  is  therefore  withheld,  and  the 
part  objected  to  printed  in  capitals,  the  more  to  impress 
the  mind  of  the  reader  with  the  alleged  criminality  of  its 
author.  Here  follows  a  part  of  the  context.  After  stating 
the  difficulty  of  finding  language  to  express  the  mode  of 
existence,  even  of  a_^rt//ebeing,  in  a  highly  wrought  state 
of  mental  feeling,  the  Berean  says: 

"  From  the  above  consideration  it  is  manifest,  that  it  is 
impossible  for  language,  finite  and  imperfect  as  it  must 
necessarily  be,  to  describe  the  modes  of  existence  of  the 
Great  Supreme.  The  external  world  furnishes  us  with 
some  fair  testimonies  of  His  power  and  His  immensity ; 
but  the  operation  of  His  Holy  Spirit  in  man,  can  alone 
convey  to  us  that  knowledge  of  Himself  which  it  interests 
us  to  possess  ;  and  tliis  knowledge  must  be  more  or  less 
perfect,  according  to  the  spiritual  condition  of  each  soul  to 
receive  and  to  profit  by  if.    His  mercy  and  condescending 


34 


goodness  in  thus  treating  with  man  accordwg  to  his  state, 
has  given  rise  to  the  various  dispensations  of  the  law,  the 
prophets,  and  the  more  perfect  revelation  of  Himself  in 
what  is  called  the  Gospel  day.  Every  age,  in  short,  has 
had  that  degree  of  revelation  adapted  to  it ;  and  every  in- 
dividual a  dispensation  of  grace  and  of  knowledge  suited  to 
his  spiritual  condition.  From  die  history  given  of  the 
Israelites,  it  must  be  conceded,  that  their  moral  and  intel- 
lectual condition  was  low  and  degraded.  They  were  in- 
capable of  conceiving,  or  receiving  just  ideas  of  God. 
The  revelations,  therefore,  made  to  them,  however  wisely 
adapted  to  a  state  extremely  outward  and  carnal,  cannot  he 
LITERALLY  construcd  as  representing  always  the  true 
nature  and  character,  affections  and  attributes  of  the 
Divinity.  Had  He  been  revealed  to  them  encircled  with 
all  his  glorious  perfections.  He  would  have  dazzled,  not 
enlightened ;  He  would  have  blinded,  but  not  instructed 
them.  [Now  the  revelations  respecting  the  nature  of  God, 
which  were  made  to  the  Israelites,  are  trite,  when  viewed 
as  in  connection  with,  and  as  having  relation  to  their 
SPIRITUAL  CONDITION  ;  but  to  any  othkr  state,  they  are  not 
true  :  therefore  such  revelations  abstractedly  taken,  are  not 
true  in  themselves, — are  not  the  truth  of  God.]  No  state 
short  of  entire  perfection  is  capable  of  receiving  '  the  truth 
of  God,'  and  of  apprehending  and  comprehending  Him  as 

HE  REALLY  IS." 

The  reader  will  now  perceive,  that  the  extract  in  the 
"  Declaration  "  has  been  taken  out  of  the  midst  of  a  para- 
graph; and  had  but  a  few  lines  only,  preceding  and  follow- 
ing it,  been  included  in  Uiat  extract,  they  would  have  af- 
forded such  an  explanation  as  would  have  deprived  it  of 
those  objectionable  features  which  it  is  made  to  possess,  as 
copied  into  the  "  Declaration." 


35 


We  read  in  Scripture  respecting  God,  that  He  fainteth 
not,  nor  is  weary  ; — that  he  cannot  repent ; — that  he  is 
steadfast  forever,  immutable,  without  variableness  or  shadow 
of  turning ; — that  He  is  love  ; — that  anger  is  not  in  Him  ; — 
that  He  sleepeth  not  by  day,  nor  slumbereth  by  night,  &c. 
We  also  read  there,  that  He  is  weary  ; — that  He  repents ; 
— that  He  hates  ; — that  He  is  a  God  of  vengeance  ; — af- 
fected with  fierce  anger ;  and  again  is  pacified  ; — tliat  He 
walks, — stands, — rests, — -and  awakes  as  one  out  of  sleep 
&c.  Now  it  is  manifest  that  these  statements,  standing 
in  direct  opposition  to  each  other,  cannot  all  be  true  ;  and 
the  Berean,  in  his  remarks  on  this  subject,  says  in  sub- 
stance, that  "those  revelations,"  mentioned  in  the  latter  sen- 
tence, that  ascribe  to  Deity  the  affections  which  belong  to 
the  weakest  of  mortals,  are  not  ("  abstractedly  taken")  to 
be  literally  construed  ; — that  they  "  are  not  true  in  them- 
selves,— are  not  the  truth  of  God  — and  that  this  phrase- 
ology is  used  in  the  Scriptures,  through  infinite  condescen- 
sion to  the  low  and  degraded  state  of  the  Israelites,  who 
were  "  incapable  of  conceiving  or  receiving  just  ideas  of 
God;" — and  diat  "no  state  short  of  perfection  is  capable  of 
receiving  the  '  truth  of  God,'  and  of  apprehending  and 
comprehending  Him,  as  He  really  is." 

So  George  Fox  says,  "  To  what  state  Christ  and  his 
apostles  spoke,  the  words  were  truth  to  that  state." 

Great  Mystery,  p.  386. 

The  same  view  of  this  subject  is  expressed  by  William 
Penn,  before  quoted,  viz.,  That  God  "  has  condescended, 
for  the  hardness  and  darkness  of  men's  hearts,  to  approach 
and  spell  out  his  holy  mind  to  them  hy  low  and  carnal 
ways,  as  they  may  appear  to  our  more  enlightened  under- 
standings," &c. 


36 


"  It  is  indeed  to  be  admitted,  that  all  the  language  in 
which  God  speaks  of  himself  in  the  Jewish  Scriptures, 
does  not,  if  rigorously  interpreted,  accord  with  those  views 
of  the  Divine  character,  especially  with  those  lofty  and 
sublime  views  of  the  Divine  nature,  which  have  been  gath- 
ered from  this  source  into  our  confession.  Thus  we  read 
familiarly  of  his  eyes,  and  hands,  and  feet,  and  face, — as  if 
he  were  flesh,  and  not  spirit ; — of  his  being  angry,  and 
gi'ieved,  and  jealous,  and  revengeful, — as  if  he  were  of  like 
passions  with  ourselves  ; — of  his  being  restrained  or  con- 
trolled," &c.  "  All  such  representations  are,  no  doubt,  in- 
appropriate and  unworthy,  in  relation  to  the  lofty  truth ; 
yet  were  they  necessary  and  inevitable  in  relation  to  the 
low  and  inadequate  capacities  of  those  whom  they  were 
designed  to  instruct." — Lectures  on  the  Jews,  hy  minis- 
ters of  the  Established  Church,  Glasgow.  Philadelphia, 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication,  1840. 

In  like  manner  Job  Scott  remarks  as  follows  :  "  His 
[God's]  nature  is  such,  that  He  is  an  eternal  Fountain  of 
Love  ;  and  yet  that  same  nature  maketh  Him  a  consuming 
fire,  and  a  God  of  venge^ince  to  the  wicked.  Indeed,  these 
two  seemingly  diff'erent  operations  of  His  power,  are  not, 
in  Himself,  any  wise  different.  It  is  no  more  two  acts, 
or  operations,  in  Himself,  whereby  one  soul  is  consolated, 
and  another  condemned,  than  it  is  two  different  natures 
in  the  sun  to  soften  pitch  and  harden  clay.  He  is  to  men 
and  to  all  things,  according  to  MezV  own  state,  condition, 
and  BEING.  His  whole  nature  is  in  such  eternal  opposition 
to  all  evil,  that  every  soul  that  commits  it,  mustyecZ  his 
vengeance.  Yet  it  is  not  in  our  power  by  all  our  evil 
deeds,  to  alter  Him, — the  unchangeable  God, — or  to  disturb 
his  repose,  by  stirring  up  passions  of  anger  or  revenge. 


37 


He  cannot  be  at  one  time  other  than  what  He  is  at  alt' 
times,'"  Job  Scotfs  Works,  vol.  2,  p.  300. 

The  Declaration,  after  giving  a  summary  of  what  it 
charges  as  "  unsound  and  spurious"  doctrines,  speaks  of 
that  founded  on  the  last  two  articles,  in  the  following  in- 
flated style  :  (p.  19.) 

"  But  we  could  not  have  supposed,  that  at  this  enlight- 
ened day,  when  their  [the  Scriptures']  divine  authority  has 
been  so  abundantly  confirmed  by  the  accomplishment  of 
the  ancient  prophecies,  and  in  the  experience  of  the  true 
Christian,  that  any  of  the  professed  believers  in  the  "  light 
within"  would  dare  to  assert,  that  those  divine  revelations 
respecting  the  nature  of  God,  are  not  true  in  themselves, 
are  not  the  truth  of  God.  It  is  an  affecting  proof  of  the 
dreadful  consequences  of  a  spirit  of  skepticism  and  unbe- 
lief, that  they  sliould  become  so  darkened  as  to  speak  in  this 
irreverent  manner  of  those  weighty  truths  revealed  to  the 
Lord's  servants,  to  whom  he  condescended  to  speak  as  face 
to  face." 

The  reader  has  now  before  him  the  merits  of  the  case, 
in  relation  to  the  last  two  articles,  (X.  and  XI.)  The  ques- 
tion, as  will  be  readily  perceived,  does  not  turn  on  a  denial 
of  Scripture — for  the  genuineness  and  authenticity  of  the 
texts  in  question,  are  fully  admitted — but  on  the  construc- 
tion of  them  merely  ;  and  that  given  by  the  Berean  is  sus- 
tained by  William  Penn,  Job  Scott,  and  others.  Neither  has 
he  spoken  "  in  an  irreverent  manner."  It  is  a  common 
practice  with  commentators  to  resort  to  construction,  when 
certain  parts  of  Scripture  are  contrary  to  other  parts,  and  to 
right  reason.  And  if  those  passages  which  invest  the 
Almighty  Jehovah  with  the  frailties  of  humanity,  are  to  be 
accepted  literally,  we  may  with  equal  reason  adopt  the 

4 


38 


Popish  doctrine  of  transubstantiation :  for  the  texts,  "  The 
Lord  reOengdh  and  is  furious,"  Nah.  i.  2,  "  For  it  re- 
penteth  me  that  I  have  made  them,"  Gen.  vi,  7,  <fcc.,  are 
expressions  as  positive  as,  "  Take,  eat ;  this  is  my  body," 
Matt.  xxvi.  26. 

In  reference  to  this  subject,  William  Penn  says,  "  Here, 
they  [the  Scriptures]  are  proper  ;  there,  metaphorical ; — in 
one  place,  literally,  in  another,  mystically  to  be  under- 
stood." Sec  his  Discourse  on  the  general  rules  of  faith 
and  practice. 

Here  is  a  wide  field  open  for  construction ;  and  there 
are  few  passages  of  Scripture,  perhaps,  that  more  evidently 
demand  it,  tlian  those  in  question. 

Agalh  ;  Concefning  the  Scriptures,  George  Fox  says, 
that  they  are  carnal,  and  kill and  Isaac  Pennington, 
that  "  the  knowledge  obtained  from  them  only  puffeth 
up,  and  fitteth  for  the  slaughter,  bringing  misery  and 
death  ;"  and  Samuel  Fisher  says,  that  "  they  are  a  bare 
carcass."  But  they  also  say,  that  they  "  are  profitable 
for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  instruction  in  righteous- 
ness," &c. 

Now  if  we  select  those  passages  only,  from  Elias 
Hicks  and  Thomas  Wetherald,  which  appear  "  deroga- 
tory "  to  the  Scriptures,  and  again,  if  we  select  those 
passages  only,  from  George  Fox,  Isaac  Pennington,  and 
Samuel  Fisher,  which  highly  commend  them,  we  do 
that  which  the  authors  of  the  Declaration  have,  in  sub- 
stance, done ;  and  we  may  adopt  their  conclusion  with 
the  appearance  of  truth,  "  that  it  must  be  evident  to 
every  candid  mind,  that  the  sentiments  [of  Elias  Hicks 
and  Thomas  Wetherald]  extracted  from  their  own 
works,  are  at  perfect  variance  with  the  doctrines  [of 


39 


George  Fox,  Isaac  Pennington,  and  Samuel  Fisher]  re- 
specting the  Holy  Scriptures." 

But  again,  if  we  select,  on  the  contrary,  those  pas- 
sages only,  from  Elias  Hicks  and  Thomas-  Wetherald, 
&c.,  which  highly  commend  the  Scriptures ;  and  those 
only,  from  George  Fox,  Isaac  Pennington,  and  Samuel 
Fisher,  &c.,  which  appear  derogatory  ioihem,  we  do  that 
which  Bugg,  Leslie,  and  others  of  their  adversaries,  in 
substance,  did  in  their  day,  and  what  the  authors  of  the 
Declaration  have  done  in  our  day:  and  we  may  adopt 
the  same  language  of  the  Declaration,  and  with  equal 
appearance  of  truth,  as  before,  against  those  ancient 
worthies,  that  "it  must  be  evident  to  every  candid 
mind,  that  the  sentiments  [of  George  Fox,  Isaac  Pen- 
nington and  Samuel  Fisher]  extracted  from  their  own 
works,  are  at  perfect  variance  with  the  doctrines  [of 
Elias  Hicks  and  Thomas  Wetherald,  &c.]  respecting 
the  Scriptures." 

In  conclusion  :  When  to  the  derogatory  expressions 
of  Elias  Hicks,  Samuel  Fisher,  &c.  such  as  a  "  dead 
monument" — "  a  bare  carcass" — we  add  the  words,  ex- 
cluding the  spirit^  (always  understood,)  we  then  convey 
the  true  meaning  of  the  authors,  and  all  o^e;ice  vanishes. 
And  when  they  speak  of  the  Scriptures,  as  a  great  bless- 
ing, instructive  and  comfortable,  by  adding  the  sen- 
tence— withthelight  and  aid  of  the  spirit,  all  contradiction 
is  removed,  and  the  sense  rendered  equally  clear. 


In  the  foregoing  pages,  I  have  shown  that  the  authors 
of  the  Declaration  have  made  a  number  of  partial  ex- 
tracts from  the  "Sermons"  and  "Berean,"  concerning 


40 


the  Scriptures.  From  the  testimony  thus  presented, 
tiiey  give  the  following  summary  : 

"  We  could  select  many  other  passages  derogatory  to 
the  Holy  Scriptures ;  but  these  are  sufficient  to  show 
the  contemptuQus  manner  in  which  they  are  spoken  of  by 
the  Separatists  and  their  ministers.  They  assert  (1,)  that 
they  are  not  necessary,  and  perhaps  not  suited  to  any 
other  people  than  those  to  whom  they  were  written ; 
(2,)  that  they  are  a  thing  without  any  life  at  all ;  (3,)  a 
dead  monument;  (4<,)  all  shadow,  upon  which  we  should 
turn  our  backs  ;  (5,)  that  the  direction  of  our  Lord  to 
search  them  is  not  correct  ;  (6,)  that  his  parables  have 
no  such  effect  as  a  tendency  to  reform  and  turn  men 
about  to  truth  ;  (7,)  that  in  vain  does  any  man  quote  the 
Scriptures  as  autliority  for  his  opinions  ;  that  without 
immediate  revelation  they  are  no  better  than  specula- 
tions ;  (8,)  that  they  only  form  an  ignis  fatuus  which 
leads  to  bewilder,  and  dazzles  to  blind;  (9,)  that  no  ex- 
perience will  ever  be  worth  anything  to  us  Avhich  is  not 
our  own  experience,"  &c.    p.  18. 

In  making  out  this  catalogue  of  charges,  the  authors 
of  the  Declaration  have  taken  out  detached  sentences^  put 
upon  them  their  own  construction,  and  carefully  excluded 
expressions  tending  to  modify  or  explain  their  true  in- 
tent and  meaning.  Here  follows  a  small  part  of  the 
matter  thus  kept  out  of  view  : 

Of  the  Scriptures,  Elias  Hicks  says,  that  "  the  doc- 
trines contained  in  them  are  excellent  ;  that  the  figures 
are  beautiful ;  that  they  point  us  to  the  true  plan  :"  and 
he  recommends  us  to  search  the  Scriptures,  as  the  Bere- 
ans  did; that  we  will  be  confirmed  thereby;  that  the 
parables  of  Jesus  are  beautiful ;  that  it  is  a  privilege  to 


41 


read  his  example ;  that  his  doctrine  and  example  are 
pre-eminently  excellent ;  that  wliat  is  written  concerning 
him,  with  his  precepts,  comprehends  more  than  all  the 
books  on  earth  ;  that  he  was  at  the  fountain-head  of 
divine  inspiration  ;  that  he  is  above  all  books,  &c. 

Fkil.  Serm.  pp.  225,  24.3,  308,  17,  72,  20. 
And  when  he  speaks  of  the  Scriptures  as  "  all 
shadow,"  a  "  dead  monument,"  &c.,  it  is  impossible  to 
mistake  his  meaning,  for  his  discourses  are  interspersed 
with  explanatory  matter,  such  as  the  following :  "  Un- 
less by  the  letter  we  are  gathered  to  the  Spirit^  we  can- 
not use  the  letter  arighty  Phil.  Serm.,  p.  100.  "It 
killeth,  and  bringeth  death  to  the  soul,  when  it  is  de- 
pended on, — when  it  is  made  the  principal  thing.^^  Ibid, 
p.  95. — "  We  see  how  excellent  the  law  was  formerly 
to  the  Israelites ;  and  yet  it  was  not  enough  to  make 
them  perfect,  unless  it  led  them  to  the  Spirit."  Ibid, 
p.  9.  "  Here  now  [by  the  Divine  light]  all  things 
would  be  spiritually  interpreted  ;  all  those  types  would 
be  opened  to  us  ;  they  would  become  beautiful  figures  to 
lead  us  on  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  Jewish 
dispensation,  beginning  with  Moses,  through  all  the 
prophets,  and  Jesus  Christ,  the  son  of  God."  Quaker, 
vol.  1,  p.  10.  "How  is  this  mystery  Babylon  [religious 
systems  of  men]  built  1  It  is  built  of  the  best  of  all 
letter  that  ever  was  written  on  earth:  and  after  all,  it  is 
nothing  but  letter."  Phil.  Serm.  p.  94>.  "  Search  the 
Scriptures,  as  we  read  the  Bereans  did,  and  see  whether 
these  things  are  not  so.  But  you  cannot  knov:  them  by 
reading  them  merely,  but  as  you  are  directed  by  the 
light  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  Under  the  influence  of  that 
Spirit,  you  may  not  only  read  and  understand  them,  but 
you  will  be  confirmed  thereby."    Ibid,  p.  17.    "  And 

4.* 


42 


when  we  read  it  under  this  influence,  it  w&uld  carry  com- 
fort and  consolation  to  the  soul^    Jbid,  p.  316. 

Much  more  I  might  quote  of  the  same  tenor,  were  it 
necessary.  But  one  fact  remains  to  be  stated,  which 
casts  a  flood  of  light  upon  this  subject.  He  very  often 
appeals  to  them,  as  to  an  authority  not  to  be  contested, 
in  support  of  his  doctrines.  On  almost  every  page  of 
his  discaurses,  are  quoted  passages  from  Scripture,  as 
an  authority  from  which  there  can  be  no  appeal.  He 
every  where  asserts  their  claim  to  revelation.  But  he 
contends  that  the  light  of  the  Spirit  is  necessary  to  un- 
fold them,  and  make  them  useful  to  us.  Here  follows 
what  he  says  for  himself  :  "  And  there  are  those  who 
assert  that  I  disbelieve  the  Scriptures,  and  that  I 
undervalue  them.  But  there  is  not  a  greater  falsehood 
expressed  among  mankind ;  and  I  will  assure  you,  my 
friends,  that  what  I  say  is  truth — I  have  loved  the 
Scriptures  of  truth  from  my  youth.  I  have'delighted 
in  reading  them  ;  and  perhaps  there  are  none  who  have 
read  them  more  than  myself:  and  I  presume,  according 
to  my  knowledge,  no  man  has  received  mo7-e  advantage 
than  I  have,  and  continue  to  have,  from  reading  them. 
And  I  am  at  this  time  convinced,  that  wherever  I  have 
been  called  to  be  a  mouth  for  the  Lord  in  the  line  of  the 
gospel  ministry,  I  need  not  make  this  apology  or  de- 
claration. No  individual  ever  brought  forth  more 
scripture  to  prove  his  doctrines,  than  I  have  when  under 
the  influence  of  Divine  love  and  truth  that  gave  forth 
the  Scriptures.  Divine  wisdom,  knowing  the  state  of 
the  people,  that  they  would  hardly  receive  my  doctrines 
unless  confirmed  by  scripture  testimony — here  imme- 
diately, without  the  necessity  of  seeking  for  it,  a  passage 
would  rise  up,  in  consonance  with  my  assertion  or  de- 


43 


claration.  And  I  appeal  to  the  people  where  my  lot  has 
been  cast,  if  it  has  not  been  my  case.  Then,  what  in- 
fatuation to  say  that  I  undervalue  the  Scriptures  !  No, 
my  friends,  I  do  not  undervalue  the  Scriptures  of  truth  ; 
but  I  feel  it  a  duty  to  set  them  in  the  right  place,  and  I 
dare  not  set  them  above  it.  For,  if  I  do  this,  I  shall 
ofTend  my  Creator — -I  shall  offend  against  that  light 
Avhich  is  my  faith,  and  my  governing  principle  ;  and  in 
which  I  feel  peace  with  God,  and  with  the  children  of 
men  every  where."  Quaker,  vol.  1,  p.  19. 

"The  New  Testament,"  says  Edward  Hicks,  "I  con- 
sider to  be  a  great  blessing  ;  it  is  an  invaluable  treasure, 
as  an  outward  and  secondary  rule,"  &c. 

Sermons,  p.  47. 

Thomas  Wetherald  says,  "  The  Scriptures  were  writ- 
ten for  our  instruction,  edification,  reproof,  and  comfort 
in  righteousness  ;  that  we,  through  faith  and  comfort  of 
the  Scriptures,  might  have  hope." 

Sermons,  p.  205. 

The  Berean  says,  "  The  Spirit,  in  its  inward  opera- 
tions on  the  soul,  is  the  foundation  and  object  of  the 
Quaker's  faith, — his  hope, — his  rule, — his  salvation. 
Neither  the  Quaker's  faith,  therefore,  nor  his  doctrines, 
are  founded  on  the  Scriptures  ;  but  he  appeals  to  the 
Scriptures,  or  to  the  conditions  and  experiences  of  the 
saints  of  old,  as  therein  recorded,  as  corroborative  and 
confirmatory  testimony,  both  of  his  faith  and  practice ; 
and  he  finds  himself  thereby  the  more  confirmed  and 
comforted  :  '  that  observing  the  providences  attending 
them  ;  seeing  the  snares  they  were  liable  to ;  and  be- 
holding their  deliverances,  we  may  thereby  be  made 


44 


wise  unto  salvation,  and  seasonably  reproved,  and  in- 
structed in  righteousness.'  " — Berean,  Second  Series, 
vol.  1,  p.  33.    See  also  Barclay,  pp.  33,  87,  98. 

I  deem  it  unnecessary  to  produce  further  testimony 
here  on  this  subject.  I  will  only  add,  that  the  Queries 
respecting  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  in  our  families, 
continue  to  be  read  and  answered  in  all  our  meetings, 
and  this  use  of  them  is  adhered  to  among  us,  agreeably  to 
the  ancient  custom  of  our  religious  Society. 


The  Declaration,  after  giving  a  synopsis  of  the  spurious 
charges  against  us,  already  quoted,  continues  as  follows  : 
"  The  Society  of  Friends  have  always  fully  believed  in  the 
authenticity  and  divine  authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
and  acknowledge  them  to  be  the  only  fit  outward  test  of 
doctrines,  having  been  dictated  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God, 
which  cannot  err.  They  are  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  re- 
proof, for  correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness,  that 
the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto 
all  good  works  ;  and  are  able  to  make  wise  unto  salvation 
through  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  and  whatever  any 
teach  OR  do  contrary  thereto,  they  reject  as  a  delusion." 
p.  19. 

These  views  we  own  and  unite  with  :  they  have  often 
been  expressed  and  published  by  our  religious  Society,  in 
denial  of  charges  brought  against  it  by  its  adversaries,  of 
the  same  character  with  those  found  in  the  Declaration,  and 
equally  unfounded. 

In  allusion  to  these  charges,  now  revived  by  that  work, 
the  Declaration  says,  "  It  must  be  evident  to  every  candid 
mind,  that  the  sentiments  of  the  Separatists,  wlxich  we  have 


45 


quoted  from  their  own  works,  are  at  perfect  variance  with 
the  doctrines  of  our  early  Friends,  respecting  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  howe\er  they  may  endeavour  to  make  the  im- 
pression upon  the  public  mind,  that  they  are  one  in  faitli 
with  them."    pp.  20,  21. 

Tlie  kind  of  evidence,  and  how  "  quoted  from  their  own 
works,"  I  have  exliibited  to  the  reader :  now,  I  will  here 
present  a  summary,  "quoted"  much  in  the  same  manner, 
though  with  less  injustice,  from  the  Works  of  ^^ncient 
Friends  of  the  highest  standing  in  their  day.  By  which  it 
will  be  clearly  seen,  that  through  the  same  process  that  has 
been  used  against  us,  brought  to  bear  against  them, 
charges  even  of  a  higher  grade  than  those  now  imputed  to 
their  successors,  can  be  equally  sustained  against  them. 

They  say  respecting  the  Scriptures, — That  they  are 
"carnal,  and  killeth  ;"that  the  letter  is  paper  and  ink, 
and  the  letters  carnal.  (George  Fox.) — That  there  "  are 
errors  and  corruptions  in  them,  that  men  who  could  not 
read  ha\  e  detected."  (Robert  Barclay.) — That  they  "  are 
not  the  rule,  nor  a  rule."  (Isaac  Pennington,  Richard  Huh- 
berthorn,  Humphrey  Smith.) — That  "  tlie  knowledge  they 
give,  but  puffeth  up,  and  fitteth  for  the  slaughter."  That 
"the  best  copy  of  the  Scriptures  is  but  a  dead  corpse,  and 
bare  carcass."  (Samuel  Fisher.) — That  "  what  is  spoken 
immediately  from  the  Spirit,  is  of  as  great  and  greater  au- 
thoriti,'  than  the  Scriptures,  as  received  and  immediately 
proceeding  from  the  Spirit,"  <kc.  (George  Whitehead.) — 
That  "  we  are  not  to  nin  to  the  Scriptures,  when  the  Spirit 
speaks,  to  know  whether  what  he  speaks  he  his  words  or 
no."  (Isaac  Pennington.) — That  they  "  are  subject  to  many 
uncertainties,  and  need  to  be  corrected."  (Robert  Barclay.) 
— That  Christ's  followers  did  not  recommend  what  tliey 
wrote,  as  a  rule.    That  they  "  are  not  a  revelation,  but 


46 


tradition  rather."  (William  Penn.) — That  they  "are  not 
necessary."  (William  Penn,  George  Fox.)— That  if  we 
*'  keep  to  tlie  anointing  in  all  things,  we  are  safe."  That 
"the  Scriptures  cannot  give  a  knowledge  of  the  Saviour; 
they  can  only  point  to  him."  That  they  are  no  more  our 
rule  now,  tiian  they  were  the  holy  men's  rule  who  gave 
them  forth.  That  they  lead  into  misery  and  death.  (Isaac 
Pennington.) — And  that  tliey  cannot  be  the  rule  of  faith, 
nor  of  practice.  (William  Penn.) 

From  the  above  premises,  the  following  positions  are 
rendered  manifest : 

Elias  Hicks  says  , that  the  letter  is  a  dead  monument, 
— without  any  life  at  all, — nothing  but  shadow,  &c. 
But  he  also  says,  that  the  doctrines  contained  in  the 
Scriptures  are  excellent ; — recommends  the  reading  of 
them  ; — that  they  are  worthy  of  being  read,  if  any  book 
is  worthy  of  being  read  ; — that  they  will  carry  comfort 
and  consolation  to  the  soul :  and  he  quotes  them  con- 
tinually in  his  sermons,  in  confirmation  of  his  doctrines. 

Thomas  Wetherald  says,  that  the  Scriptures  are  an 
igfnis  fatuus,  leading'  to  bewilder,  and  dazzling  to  blind. 
But  he  also  says,  that  they  were  written  for  our  instruc- 
tion, reproof,  and  comfort  in  righteousness  ;  that  we 
through  faith  and  comfort  of  the  Scriptures  might  have 
hope. 

Here  is  an  apparent  contradiction.  But  they  [the 
speakers]  furnish  us  with  a  key  that  explains  it,  gene- 
rally in  the  same  page  or  paragraph, — namely:  To  him 
who  reads  the  Scriptures  without  seeking  the  aid  and 
influence  of  the  Spirit,  they  are  a  dead  monument, — an 
ignis  fatuus.  But  he  who  avails  himself  of  this  aid, 
reads  them  to  edification  and  comfort. 


47 


Now  the  authors  of  the  Declaration,  in  selecting  from 
Elias  Hicks  and  Thomas  Wetherald,  the  sentences 
which  appear  derogatory  to  the  Scriptures,  and  pub- 
lishing them  to  the  world  to  show  how  "  contemptu- 
ously" they  had  treated  those  writings,  have  done  an 
act  of  injustice,  by  keeping  back  the  recommendatory 
clauses,  and  the  key  that  explains  the  whole. 

George  Fox  says,  that  the  Scriptures  are  carnal  and 
killeth  ;  Isaac  Pennington,  that  the  reading  of  them 
brings  misery  and  death  j  and  Samuel  Fisher,  that  they 
are  but  a  bare  carcass.  Yet  they  speak  of  them  also, 
as  precious  writings,  affording  comfort  and  consolation 
to  the  reader  ;  and  furnish  in  like  manner  a  key  that  in- 
terprets their  meaning.  Leslie,  Bugg,  and  others  of 
their  adversaries,  selected  the  apparently  offensive  pas- 
sages ;  and,  concealing  the  k^y  that  explained  them,  gave 
them  publicity  to  prove  that  tliey  treated  the  Scriptures 
"  contemptuously.^'' 

It  has  been  made  manifest,  that  the  authors  of  the 
Declaration  have  acted  therein  as  did  Bugg  and  Leslie; 
and  the  views  of  Elias  Hicks  and  Thomas  Wetherald 
respecting  the  Scriptures,  are  identical  with  those  held 
by  George  Fox,  William  Penn,  Isaac  Pennington,  George 
Whitehead  and  others  in  the  seventcentli  century. 

I  have  said,  that  in  quoting  from  early  Friends,  I  have 
done  them  "  less  injustice,"  than  the  authors  of  the 
Declaration  have  done  to  their  successors.  I  will  now 
explain.  The  publication  of  the  Sermons  was  the  work 
of  a  stenographer,  and  unauthorized  by  the  Society  of 
Friends  ;  whereas,  the  books  from  which  I  have  quoted 
were  authorized,  and  repeated  editions  of  them  issued 
by  the  London  Yearly  Meeting.    As  for  the  Berean,  it 


48 


was  published  anonymously^  and  but  the  one  edition  of 
it.  It  had,  among  Friends,  four  or  five  hundred  sub- 
scribers. But  is  it  just,  to  hold  subscribers  responsible 
for  all  the  matter  inserted  in  the  periodical  works  which 
they  may  take  \  More  than  three-fourths  of  the  body 
of  Friends  never  subscribed  for  the  Berean.  Whatever 
of  praise  or  of  blame,  therefore,  might  attach  to  the 
work,  those  who  never  patronized  it  could  not,  with 
any  colour  of  reason  or  justice,  either  incur  the  one  or 
merit  the  other. 


Article  XII.  "  In  the  next  place,  we  shall  shew  that 
they  deny  the  miraculous  conception  of  our  Lord." 

"Elias  Hicks  says,  'Who  was  his  father]  He  was 
begotten  of  God.  We  cannot  suppose  that  it  was  the  out- 
ward body  of  flesh  and  blood  that  was  begotten  of  God,  but  a 
birth  of  the  spiritual  life  in  the  soul.  We  must  apply  it 
internally  and  spiritually.  For  nothing  can  be  a  Son  of 
God,  but  that  which  is  spirit  ,■  and  nothing  but  the  soul  of 
man  is  a  recipient  for  the  light  and  spirit  of  God. 
Therefore  nothing  can  be  a  Son  of  God  but  that  which  is 
immortal  and  invisible.  .Kothing  visible  can  be  a  Son  of 
God.  Every  visible  thing  must  come  to  an  end  ;  and 
we  must  know  the  mortality  of  it.  Flesh  and  blood 
cannot  enter  into  heaven.  By  the  analogy  of  reason, 
spirit  cannot  beget  a  material  body  ;  because  the  thing 
begotten,  must  be  of  the  same  nature  with  its  father. 
Spirit  cannot  beget  anything  but  spirit ;  it  cannot  beget 
flesh  and  blood.    No,  my  friends,  it  is  impossible.'  " 

["  Jesus  declared,  '  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh, 
is  flesh.''    He  alluded  to  the  inquiry  of  Nicodemus,  how 


49 


a  man  could  be  born  again  1  He  shows  him  it  was  not 
a  natural,  but  a  spiritual  birth  ;  for,  '  that  which  is  born  of 
the  flesh  is  flesh :  and  that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is 
spirit.'  He  therefore  said,  '  Except  a  man  be  born  again, 
he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.'  Man  is  a 
compound  being.  One  part  is  composed  of  flesh  and 
blood,  the  other  part  of  spirit ;  and  as  the  immortal  soul 
is  born  of  the  Spirit  and  power  of  God,  it  becomes  a  son  of 
God."]  Philadelphia  Sermons,  p.  10. 

Every  reader  will  at  once  perceive  the  importance  of 
the  paragraph  inclosed  in  brackets,  and  particularly  the 
parts  printed  in  italics,  (which  paragraph,  as  in  other 
cases,  has  been  suppressed,)  both  in  explaining  and  cor- 
roborating that  which  precedes  it.  "  That  which  is  born 
of  the  flesh  is  flesh  :  and  that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit, 
is  spirit.''''  It  follows  as  a  consequence,  that  that  which 
is  begotten  of  the  Spirit,  is  spirit ;  and  that  which  is 
begotten  of  the  flesh,  is  flesh :  for  the  birth,  or  the  be- 
gotten, must  be  of  the  same  nature  SiS  thatAvhich  begets. 
The  testimony  of  Jesus,  therefore,  confirms  the  doctrine 
contained  in  the  extract :  and  we  find  the  same  views 
maintained  by  our  ancient  writers,  as  I  will  proceed  to 
prove. 

William  Penn  says,  "I  have  these  two  short  argu- 
ments farther  to  prove  what  I  believe  and  assert,  as  to 
the  spirituality  of  the  true  seed  ;  and  a  char  overthrow  it 
is  to  the  opinion  of  our  adversaries  concerning  the  true 
Christ.  First,  every  thing  begets  its  like.  What  is 
simply  natural  produces  not  a  spiritual  being.  Material 
things  bring  not  forth  things  that  are  immaterial .  Now, 
because  the  nature  or  image  begotten  in  the  hearts  of 
true  believers  is  spiritual,  it  will  follow,  that  the  seed 

5 


50 


which  so  begets  and  brings  forth  that  birth,  must  be  tfie 
same  in  nature  with  that  which  is  begotten, — therefore 
spiritual^  Ckristian  Quaker,  p.  195, 

Again  :  William  Penn  says,  "  But  that  the  outward  per- 
son which  suffered  was  properly  the  Son  of  God,  we 
UTTERLY  DENY  ;  and  it  is  a  perfect  contradiction  to  their 
own  principles.  '  A  body  hast  thou  prepared  me,'  said 
the  Son.  Then  the  Son  was  not  the  body  ;  though  the 
body  was  the  Son's."  Works,  vol.  2,  fol.  p.  65. 

Again,  after  quoting  John  viii.  56,  58,  he  thus  argues  : 
"  If  that  which  was  before  Abraham,  and  yet  in  being 
the  same,  was  God, — as  none  that  own  the  Scriptures  do 
deny, — -then,  because  that  outward,  visible  body  was  not 
b^ore  Abraham,  that  was  not  God.  The  first,  all  grant ; 
the  second,  none  reasonably  doubt,"  &c.    p.  161. 

"  Such  as  is  the  begetter,  such  must  the  begotten  be. 
We  see  men  beget  men,  &c.,  and  every  seed  has  its 
own  body  :  then,  of  good  consequence,  the  immortal  God 
must  have  begotten  himself  an  immortal  God,  one  that 
could  not  die  by  the  hands  of  his  own  creatures." 

Ibid,  p.  163. 

So  likewise  Daniel  Phillips.  "  He  is  properly  the  Son 
of  God,^'  says  he,  "  that  hath  the  essenthl  properties  of 
God ;  as  eternity,  immortality,  &c.  But  the  outward 
person  or  body  of  Christ  hath  not  the  essential  properties 
of  God:  therefore  the  outward  person  or  body  of  Christ,  is 
not  properly  the  Son  of  God.  And,  after  advancing 
several  arguments,  Daniel  Phillips  concludes  thus  :  "  If 
any  opponent,  notwithstanding  the  force  of  these  alle- 
gations, shall  magisterially  say,  '  Whoever  denies  that 
the  outward  person  which  suffered  was  properly  the 
Son  of  God,  doth  thereby  actually  deny  Jesus  Christ  to 


51 


be  the  Son  of  God :'  let  him  not  think  that  his  bare 
assertion,  without  a  full  invalidation  of  those  arguments, 
will  for  the  future  be  taken  notice  of  by  me." 

Vindicice  Veritatis,  p.  89, 

George  Whitehead,  on  the  same  subject,  says,  '•'  But 
none  can  see  the  Father  with  a  carnal  eye  ;  therefore  none 
could  ever  see  the  eternal  Son  with  their  carnal  eyes,  in  the 
sense  of  seeing,  which  extends  to  true  knowledge." 
(Lux  exorta  est.  London,  1673.)  Again:  "Baptist 
says,  'Christ  was  seen  with  a  carnal  eye,  and  his  voice 
heard  with  a  carnal  ear  whereas  Christ  said,  '  He  that 
seeth  me,  seeth  my  Father  also.^  Now,  dare  he  say  that 
God  is  such  a  visible  object,  as  may  be  seen  by  a  carnal 
eye"?' 

George  Whitehead's  Light  and  Life  of  Christ,  1668. 

Isaac  Pennington,  on  .John  xiv.  9,  makes  the  following 
remarks  :  "  What !  Dost  thou  know  me  after  the  flesh  ; 
after  the  body  \  Dost  thou  take  that  for  me  1  Have  I 
been  so  long  with  you,  and  do  you  know  me  no  better 
than  so  1  The  body  is  from  below  ;  the  body  is  like  one  of 
yours,  (only  sanctified  by  the  Father,  and  preserved 
without  sin,)  but  /  am  the  same  spirit,  life  and  being  with 
the  Father  ;  we  are  one  substance  ;  one  pure  power  of  life  j 
AND  WE  CANNOT  BE  DIVIDED  t  but  he  that  secs  o?ie  must 
needs  see  both ;  he  that  knows  one,  must  needs  knoAV 
bothy  Vol.  3,  p.  32. 

The  Scripture  says,  "  No  one  hath  seen  God  at  any 
time and  "  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh,  is 
flesh  ;  and  that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit,  is  spirit." 

The  foregoing  passages  prove  that  the  Scripture 


52 


itself,  and  our  ancient  and  most  approved  writers, 
entirely  coincide  with  the  sentiments  contained  in  the 
extract,  to  wit :  that  as  "  every  thing  begets  its  like,"  and 
as  the  Son  of  God  was  begotten  by  God,  He  is  "  invisi- 
ble," "  spiritual,"  "  immaterial ;"  of  the  same  nature, 
substance,  life,  and  being  with  the  Father,  and  "  can- 
not be  divided"  from  him.  Then  that  "  prepared  body," 
being  "from  below," — made  "  in  all  things  like  unto  us, 
except  sin," — flesh  and  blood  like  unto  our  flesh  and 
blood, — could  not  have  been  begotten  of  God. 

If  the  question  be  asked,  How  was  that  body  pre- 
pared 1 — Elias  Hicks  answers,  "  We  see  that  this  flesh 
and  blood  never  could  have  been,  in  a  strict  sense,  the 
Son  of  God,"  but  a  creature  "created  by  God, — by 
HIS  POWER, — BORN  OF  THE  VIRGIN  Mary."  See  Philad. 
Sermons,  pp.  250,  251.  And  also  in  the  Quaker  (p.  136) 
he  speaks  of  that  "  prepared  body,"  as  "  the  son  of  the 
virgin."  Also  in  other  places  in  the  Sermons,  he  uses 
similar  terms  when  adverting  to  this  subject.  No 
where  do  we  find  in  any  of  the  Sermons,  an  expression 
indicating  a  disbelief  in  the  "  miraculous  conception  ;" 
otherwise  it  would  without  doubt  have  been  found 
quoted  in  the  Declaration. 

In  a  Treatise  on  Regeneration,  by  Richard  Phillips, 
1809,  approved  by  the  Meeting  for  SiifFerings  in  Lon- 
don, the  following  views  are  given :  "  The  Holy  Ghost" 
(or  Spirit)  said  the  angel,  "  shall  come  upon  thee,  and 
the  power  of  the  Highest  shall  overshadow  thee  :  there- 
fore, also,  that  holy  thing  which  shall  be  born  of  thee, 
shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God."  To  whom  in  faith  she 
replied,  "  Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord :  be  it  unto 
me  according  to  thy  word."  Thus  resigned  and  pas- 
pive  under  the  operation  of  the  Spirit,  the  Divine  will 


53 


was  accomplished  respecting  her.  And  if  man,  with 
the  like  faith,  were  equally  passive,  the  Almighty- 
power  would  do  unto  him  great  things,  so  as  to  afford 
abundant  cause  to  bless  his  holy  name  ;  the  overshadow- 
ing, generative  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  would  pro- 
duce a  real  conception  and  birth  of  the  Divine  nature  in 
him,  replacing  him  in  the  state  of  union  with  God 
which  he  possessed  before  the  fall," 

I  will  add  one  more  authority  on  this  part  of  the  sub- 
ject, taken  from  an  "  orthodox  divine,''''  (so  called,)  who 
was  well  versed  in  the  original  Greek.  He  says  that 
the  Greek  word  for  conceived,  "  should  be  translated 
fvrmedP  "  As  it  appears  that  the  human  nature  of 
Jesus  Christ  was  a  real  creation  in  the  womb  of  the 
virgin,  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 


The  Declaration  proceeds,  and  quotes  a  part  of  a 
private  letter  of  Elias  Hicks  to  Thomas  Willis  ;  which 
has  been  mutilated,  to  sustain  the  charge  against  the 
former,  of  denying  the  miraculous  conception.  The 
part  of  the  letter  suppressed,  is  a  plain  contradiction  of 
what  is  attempted  to  be  proved  by  the  same  letter  ;  and, 
separated  from  that  quoted  in  the  Declaration  in  the 
middle  of  a  sentence,  stands  in  close  and  immediate 
connection  with  the  extract  taken  out.  I  proceed  to 
give  both  the  parts,  putting  that  left  out  in  italics,  that 
the  reader  may  the  more  readily  distinguish  it  from  the 
other. 

Article  XIII.  "  Now  in  his  creed,  [the  bishop  of 
Rome,]  to  which  he  made  all  the  nations  of  Europe  bow 
by  the  dint  of  the  sword,  was  this  of  the  miraculous 

5* 


54 


birth  ;  therefore  all  children,  for  several  hundred  years, 
were  brought  up  and  educated  in  this  belief,  without  any 
examination  in  regard  to  its  correctness.  Finding  this  to 
be  the  case,  I  examined  the  accounts  given  on  this  sub- 
ject by  the  four  evangelists  ;  and,  according  to  my  best 
judgment^  on  the  occasion,  I  was  led  to  think  there  was  con- 
siderable more  Scripture  evidence  for  his  being  the  son  of 
Joseph,  than  otherwise,  &c.,  [althovgh  it  has  not  changed 
my  belief  ;  are  the  consequences  thereof  much  more  favoura- 
ble ?  For  as  the  Israelitish  covenant  rested  very  much  tipon 
external  evidence  by  way  of  outward  miracle,  so  I  conceive 
this  miraculous  birth  was  intended  pri?icipally  to  induce  the 
Israelites  to  believe  he  was  their  promised  ^Messiah,  which 
the  great  prophet  .Moses  had  long  before  prophesied  of,  that 
should  come,  like  unto  himself 

The  effect  upon  him  by  this  state  of  the  evidence,  he 
tells  us,  was,  to  make  him  the  more  charitable  towards 
such  as  might  call  the  miracle  in  question.  Elias  Hicks 
has  not  denied  this  nor  any  other  miracles ;  though  he 
did  not  place  the  stress  of  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the 
gospel  on  them,  but  on  the  more  sure  Word  of  pro- 
phecy. 

Thus,  the  letter  itself,  on  which  the  charge  is  founded, 
gives  not  only  a  plain  contradiction  of  it,  to  wit,  that 
his  belief  in  the  miraculous  conception  is  not  changed, 
but  it  gives  his  reasons  for  that  belief.  Elias  Hicks 
has  not  only  declared  his  belief  of  that  miracle  in  this 
letter,  but  throughout  his  sermons,  as  often  as  the  sub- 
ject is  alluded  to,  as  I  have  already  stated,  and  also  in 
several  letters  to  his  friends  :  the  first,  dated  "Jericho, 
7th  mo.  22d,  1827,"  is  as  follows  : 

"The  next  Query  respecting  the  miraculous  concep- 
tion, &c.,  is  to  me  a  very  plain  and  simple  thing.  All 


55 

the  external  miracles  of  the  Jewish  covenant,  had  but 
one  aim  and  end  ;  and  the  miraculous  conception  of 
Jesus,  and  of  Isaac,  and  John  the  Baptist  were  among 
the  greatest.  All  of  which  were  intended  to  prove  to 
that  dark  and  ignorant  people,  debased  by  their  bondage, 
that  there  was  a  living  and  invisible  God.  For  such 
was  their  degraded  state,  that  no  other  means  seemed  cal- 
culated to  awaken  them,  and  raise  in  them  a  belief  in 
that  invisible  Power  that  made  and  governed  the  world, 
but  an  external  manifestation  through  the  medium  of 
outward  miracles.  And  as  Moses  and  the  prophets  had 
foretold  of  the  coming  of  their  last  great  Prophet,  it  was 
of  singular  importance  to  that  people  that  they  should 
know  and  believe  in  him  when  he  came.  And  as  they 
depended  on  outward  miracles,  as  the  highest  evidence 
under  that  dispensation,  so,  it  is  not  only  reasonable,  bxit 
even  natural,  to  suppose  that  He  u-ould  be  tishered  in  by 
some  miraculous  display  of  Divine  Power." 

In  an  answer  to  another  letter  on  the  same  subject, 
dated  12th  mo.  13th,  1827,  he  says,  "I  never  thought 
nor  said,  that  I  disbelieved  the  account  given  by  the 
evangelists  respecting  the  miraculous  conception  of 
Jesus  Christ  ;  and  thou  mayst  be  fully  assured,  that 
whoever  has  reported  it,  has  reported  an  absolute  false- 
hood:' 


Article  XIV.  The  next  quotation  noticed  by  the 
Declaration,  is  extracted  from  the  Berean,  and  is  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  The  flesh  Avas  made,  and  not  begotten,  for  the  Word, 
which  is  spiritual,  to  appear  in.    '  A  body  hast  thou 


56 


prepared  me."  This  does  not  convey  to  my  mind,  the 
most  distant  idea  of  the  body  of  Christ  being  begotten  of 
God."  Vol.  2,  p.  27. 

This  quotation,  like  many  others  found  in  the  De 
claration,  is  mutilated  or  garbled ;  that  is,  it  is  taken 
out  of  the  middle  of  a  paragraph,  or  separated  from  the 
context  which  is  necessary  to  a  fair  construction  of  the 
author's  meaning.  The  writer  of  it  is  commenting  on 
the  views  of  Elias  Hicks,  as  contained  in  the  preceding 
extract.  [Art.  13.J  I  will  quote  him  so  far  as  is  ne- 
cessary to  a  right  understanding  of  the  whole,  as  fol- 
lows : 

"In  regard  to  theworibeget,  [as  applied  to  Christ,]  the 
preacher  accepts  it  wholly  in  a  spiritual  sense;  which 
enables  him  to  make  a  practical  illustration  that  deeply 
interests  and  instructs,  and  is  applicable  to  every  indi- 
vidual of  the  human  family.  '  We  cannot  suppose,' 
says  he,  [Elias  Hicks,]  '  that  it  was  the  outward  body 
of  flesh  and  blood  that  was  begotten  of  God,  No.  Flesh 
and  blood  was,  and  may  again  be  created  by  God,  but 
cannot  be  begotten  ;  for  God  is  a  Spirit^  and  '  Spirit  can- 
not beget  any  thing  but  spirit.'  In  the  light  in  which 
the  author  [E.  H.]  views  the  subject,  we  cannot  per- 
ceive the  ground  of  objection.  It  is  scriptural, — it  is 
rational.  '  The  Word  was  made  flesh.'  By  this,  I  do 
not  understand  that  the  Word  was  changed  into  flesh, 
but  "  was  manifest  in  the  flesh  ,"  according  to  apostolic 
testimony.  1  Tim.  iii.  16.  \The  flesh  was  made  (not 
begotten)  for  the  Word  which  is  spiritual  to  ajypear  in. 
' ./?  body  hast  thou  prepared  me.'  This  does  not  convey  to 
my  mind  the  most  distant  idea  of  the  body  of  Christ  being 
begotten  of  God.']    Christ  is  declared  to  be  the  only 


J 


57 


begotten  of  the  Father ;  and  so  is  every  son  of  God  be- 
gotten of  the  Father  only,  and  no  one  else.  '  Of  his 
[the  Father's]  own  will  begat  he  us  with  the  Word  of 
Truth.''  '  For  I  have  begotten  you  through  the  gospel  * 
(which  is  'the  power  of  God.'  )  '  He  that  is  begotten  of 
God,  keepeth  himself,  and  that  wicked  onetoucheth  him 
not.'  '  Wliosoever  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ, 
is  born  of  God  :  and  every  one  that  loveth  Hintj  that 
begat,  loveth  him  also  that  is  begotten  of  Him.'  '  As 
many  as  are  led  by  th^  Spirit  of  God,  are  the  Sons  of 
God."  All  these  texts  can  only  be  taken  in  a  spiritual 
sense,  and  they  serve  to  show  in  what  manner  our 
author  |^Elias  Hicks}  accepts  and  uses  the  term  6c- 
gottenP  BereaUy  vol.  2,  p.  27. 

The  reader  now  has  before  him  both  tlie  text  quoted 
in  the  Declaration,  which  is  in  italics  between  brackets, 
and  the  context.  The  latter  shows  the  Scriptural  mean- 
ing of  the  terms  beget  and  begotten,  when  applied  to 
Spirit ;  and  illustrates  the  truth  of  the  principle  laid 
down  by  William  Fenn,  that  "  everij  thing  begets  its  like.''^ 

The  above  two  passages,  to  wit,  Article  XII.  from  the 
Sermons,  and  Article  XIV.  from  theBerean,  are  brought 
forward  in  the  Declaration  to  prove  a  "plain  denial"  of 
the  miraculous  conception.  I  have  shown  that  AVilliam 
Penn,  Isaac  Pennington,  George  Whitehead,  and  Daniel 
Phillips,  are  equally  liable  to  this  charge  with  Elias 
Hicks  and  the  Berean. 

I  will  now  dismiss  this  subject  with  a  few  general 
remarks  on  the  letter  to  Thomas  Willis. 

1.  This  letter  was  j>r?ra;e  and  confidential;  but  has 
been  drawn  forth  in  violation  of  the  Divine  precept,  of 
doing  as  we  would  be  done  by ;  printed,  and  widely 
circulated,  as  if  intended  to  ruin  the  religious  character 


58 


of  Elias  Hicks.  The  letter  (according  to  the  Declara- 
tion) contains  the  "  doctrine  of  infidelity:"  why  then 
violate  its  privacy  (where  it  would  have  been  harmless) 
and  sow  the  seeds  of  "  unbelief"  through  the  commu- 
nity, by  giving  it  publicity  \  ^If  its  matter  contain  the 
seeds  of  "  infidelity,"  as  the  Declaration  affirms,  those 
who  have  given  it  publicity,  and  widely  circulated  it 
through  the  community,  are  alone  responsible  for  the 
consequences  which  may  follow. 

2.  If,  from  religious  concern,  any  action  was  thought 
necessary  to  be  taken  upon  it,  the  Discipline  of  the 
Society  of  Friends  was  open,  and  clearly  indicated  what 
that  action  should  be,  namely :  to  place  the  letter  in 
the  hands  of  the  overseers  or  other  Friends  of  the  meet- 
ing to  which  its  author  belonged,  to  act  thereon  as  sound 
discretion  might  dictate.  But  the  document  was  put 
into  the  possession  of  the  members  of  another  Yearly 
Meeting,  in  direct  violation  of  Discipline  and  good  order, 
and  is  made  to  form  a  conspicuous  part  of  the  Declara- 
tion, and  then  submitted  to  the  members  of  the  Yearly 
Meeting  of  Pennsylvania  for  adjudication ;  whilst, 
under  the  Discipline  of  Society,  they  had  no  right  to 
meddle  with  it. 


Article  XV.  "  For  he  [Jesus  Christ]  had  read  the 
law  and  understood  it ;  because  he  was  faithful  to  the 
manifestation  light:  and  it  was  dispensed  to  him  in 
proportion  to  his  necessity  to  understand  the  law.  For 
he  had  not  more  given  him  than  would  enable  him  to  fuljil 
it,  the  same  as  the  other  Israelites :  for  if  he  had  more,  he 
could  not  be  an  example  to  them." 

Wilmington  Sermon;  Quaker,  vol.  1,  p.  193. 


59 


Moses  thus  prophesied  of  the  Messiah  :  "  The  Lord 
thy  God  will  raise  up  unto  thee,  a  prophet  from  the 
midst  of  thee,  of  thy  brethren,  like  unto  me  :  unto  him  ye 
shall  hearken."  Deut.  xviii.  15.  Being  of  the  brethren, 
there  is  therefore  no  impropriety  in  calling  him  an 
"  Israelite neither  was  he  "  ashamed  to  call  them 
brethren." 

"  The  coming  of  Christ  in  that  blessed  manifestation," 
says  William  Penn,  (his  appearance  in  the  flesh,)  "  was 
to  the  Jews  only  :  he  says  it  himself:  he  was  "  not  sent, 
but  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel.'''' 

William  FenrCs  Works,  vol.  5,  p.  385. 

Again  :  "  He  came  unto  his  ow?i,  and  his  own  received 
him  not."  John  i.  11. 

In  like- manner,  Thomas  Story  says,  "  The  prophecies 
concerning  the  advent  of  the  Messiah,  were  fulfilled  to 
the  Jews,  to  whom  alone  he  was  sent,  and  appeared  in  the 
days  of  his  flesh.  And  thus,  as  to  the  outward  appear- 
ance, he  may  properly  be  called  "  the  Jewish  Messiah," 
without  derogating  from  his  high  office,  or  lessening  the 
importance  of  his  mission." 

Where  God's  fulness  is  bodily,  there  must  God 
himself  be,  with  all  his  glorious  attributes.  But  can  God 
learn  obedience  "?  Can  He  suffer'?  Can  God  be  temptedl 
Did  He  die  on  the  cross  \  Was  He  killed  by  the  crea- 
tures which  He  had  made,  and  laid  in  the  sepulchre  of 
Joseph  of  Arimatheal  But  the  man  Jesus  did  learn 
obedience  by  the  things  which  he  suffered, — was  tempt- 
ed,— died  on  the  cross,  and  his  body  was  laid  in  a 
tomb.  Hence,  we  must  of  necessity  distinguish  be- 
tween Christ,  and  the  garment  which  he  wore; — who 
declared  that  of  himself  he  could  do  nothing ; — between 


60 


the  man  Jesus,  and  Christ  the  eternal  Word, — the  om- 
nipotent God ; — for  it  was  this  Word,  even  Christ, 
wherein  all  fulness  dwelt. 

The  apostle  prayed  that  the Ephesians  might  "he  fill- 
ed with  all  the  fulness  of  God,"  (2  Eph.  iii.  19,)  and 
come  "  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness 
of  Christ."  (Ch.  iv.  13.)  In  both  these  last  cases,  it 
appears  that  the  apostle  does  not  mean  an  absolute  and 
literal  fulness,  but  as  much  as  the  capacity  of  the  sub- 
ject can  receive  or  bear. 

The  character  which  the  man  Jesus  gives  of  himself, 
may  be  appealed  to  as  the  highest  authority,  to  deter- 
mine any  question  relating  to  himself ;  and  he  declared 
that  he  could  do  nothing  of  himself,  and  that  the 
words  which  he  spoke,  were  given  to  him  by  the  Father. 
(John  xvii.  8.) 

So  Isaac  Pennington :  "  It  is  the  Spirit,  the  life  which 
was  revealed  in  that  man,  (by  which  he  did  his  Father's 
will,)  which  was  and  is  the  foundation,  whereupon  all 
the  living  stones  are  built." 

The  above  extract  (Art.  XV.)  gives  the  opinion  of 
Elias  Hicks,  in  relation  to  a  subject  which  the  framers 
of  the  Declaration  appear  to  have  considered  as  involv- 
ing the  Divinity  of  Christ.  Some  of  the  features,  or 
forms  of  expression  above  quoted,  may  be  deemed  in 
some  respects  peculiar  to  Elias  Hicks.  But  as  a  denial 
of  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  was  one  of  the  most  serious 
charges  brought  against  our  early  predecessors  by  their 
opponents,  and  was  constantly  denied  by  them,  I  will 
proceed  to  quote  from  their  writings,  in  order  to  show 
what  the  Christ  was  which  ihey  believed  in,  and  what 
their  doctrine  was  respecting  Christ. 


61 


Isaac  Pennington  (London  edition,  176],  in  two  vols, 
quarto)  says: 

1.  "Now  friends,  if  ye  will  know  aright,  ox  believe 
aright,  ye  must  know  and  believe  in  Him  who  was  with 
the  Yaihev  before  the  u-orld  was, — who  was  the  Saviour, — 
the  Jesus, — the  Christ,  from  everlasting.  For  what 
makes  him  so  ?  Is  it  not  his  nature  1  Is  it  not  the 
power  of  salvation  in  him  1  His  taking  up  a  body, 
made  no  alteration  in  him, — added  nothing  to  him  :  only  it 
was  necessary  that  he  should  take  it  up,  to  fulfil  the 
will  in  it,  and  to  offer  it  up  a  sacrifice  in  his  own  life 
and  spirit,  to  the  Father.  This  we  firmly  believe  :  and 
this  also  we  cannot  but  say  further, — that  the  virtue, 
the  value,  the  worth,  the  excellency  of  what  was  done 
by  him  in  the  body,  teas  7iot  of  the  body  ;  but  it  was  in 
him  before  time,  in  time,  and  will  be  after  time,  and  for 
ever."  Vol.  2,  p.  11. 

2.  "What  is  attributed  to  that  body,  we  acknowledge, 
and  give  to  that  body,  according  as  the  Scripture  at- 
tributeth  it  ;  which  is  through  and  because  of  that  which 
dwelt  and  acted  in  it ;  but  that  which  sanctified  and 
kept  the  body  pure,  and  made  it  acceptable  in  him,  was 
the  life,  holiness,  and  righteousness  of  the  Spirit.  And 
the  same  thing  that  kept  his  vessel  puke,  it  is  the  same 
thing  that  cleanseth  us.  The  value  which  the  material 
flesh  and  blood  had,  was  from  that  ;  in  its  coming  from 
that;  in  its  acting  in  that;  in  its  suffering  through 
that :  yea,  indeed,  that  hath  the  virtue :  that  is  it  which 
is  of  an  unchangeable  nature,  which  abideth  for  ever." 

Vol.  2,  p.  8. 

3.  "  And  when  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  was  upon  him, 
moving  him  to  preach  the  gospel,  he  preached  the  gos- 

6 


62 


pel  in  the  Spirit  and  power  of  the  Father  y  and  went  about 
doing  good,  and  healing  all  that  were  oppressed  of  the 
devil,  as  his  Father'' s  Spirit  led  and  guided  him  ;  for  he 

DID   NOTHING  OF   HIMSELF,  Or   in   hls    OWN    WILL,   Of  FOR 

HIMSELF :  but  ALL  in  the  will  and  time  of  the  Father.'''' 
Isaac  Pennington's  Works,  vol.  4,  p.  99. 

4.  "Now  the  Scriptures  do  expressly  distinguish  be- 
tween Christ,  and  the  garment  which  he  wore  ;  between 
him  that  came,  and  the  body  in  which  he  came  ;  be- 
tween the  substance  which  was  veiled,  and  the  veil 
which  veiled  it.  '  Lo  !  I  come ;  a  body  hast  thou  pre- 
pared me.'  There  is  plainly  He,  and  the  body  in 
which  He  came.  There  was  the  odtwakd  vessel,  and 
the  inward  life.  This  we  certainly  know,  and  can  never 
call  the  bodily  garment  Christ,  but  that  which  appeared 
and  dwelt  in  the  body."  "For  Christ  is  the  Son  of  the 
Father  ;  he  is  the  infinite,  eternal  Being — one  with  the 
Father,  and  with  the  Spirit,  and  cannot  be  divided  from 
either, — cannot  be  any  where,  where  they  are  not ;  nor 
can  be  excluded  from  any  place  where  they  are.  He 
may  take  up  a  body,  and  appear  in  it ;  but  cannot  be 
confined  to  be  no  where  else  but  there  ;  no,  not  at  the 
very  time  when  he  is  there.  Christ,  while  he  was  here  on 
earth,  yet  was  not  excluded  from  being  in  heaven  w^th 
the  Father,  at  the  very  same  time  ;  as  he  himself  said 
concerning  himself,  '  the  son  of  man  which  is  in  heaven.' 
(John  iii.  13.)  Nor  was  the  Father  excluded  from  being 
with  him  in  the  body  :  but  the  Father  was  in  him,  and 
he  in  the  Father,"  &c.  (Pennington,  vol.  3,  pp.  61,  62.) 
The  "  Spirit  of  the  Father"  and  "  the  Spirit  of  Christ," 
"  are  one  and  the  same  Spirit."  Pennington. 

5.  "  The  knowledge  of  those,  and  the  belief  of  those 
who  own  the  Light,  and  believe  in  the  Light,  is  owned 


63 


by  Goc/'s  Spirit,  (in  this  our  day,)  for  the  true  believing 
IN  THE  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  for  zAaZ  knowledge  which 
is  LIFE  ETERNAL :  and  the  knowing  and  believing  on 
him,  AS  MEN  ACCOUNT  IT,  according  to  their  apprehension 

of  the  LETTER,  without  this,  IS  RECKONED  WITH  GoD  FOR 
IGNORANCE  AND  UNBELIEF."  Ibid,  Vol.  2,  p.  174. 

6.  To  an  opponent,  Isaac  Pennington  answers:  "If 
he  mean  by  '  the  man  Christ  Jesus,'  the  secojid  Adam — 
the  quickening  Spirit — the  heavenly  ma?i — the  Lord  from 
heaven — he  who  is  one  with  the  Father — the  Word  which 
was  in  the  beginning,  which  created  all  things ;  I  grant 
Him  to  be  the  Redeemer  :  for  it  was  he  who  laid  down 
his  glory  wherewith  he  was  glorified  before  the  world  was, 
and  made  himself  of  no  reputation,  but  took  upon  him  the 
form  of  a  servant,  and  came  as  a  servant,  in  the  fashion  of 
a  man,  to  do  the  will.  But  if  he  distinguished  Christ  from 
this  Word  and  Spirit,  and  make  the  man's  nature  the 
Saviour,  and  the  Godhead  only  assistant  to  him,  (as  he 
seemed  to  word  it  before,  and  as  these  his  words  seem 
to  imply,)  THAT  I  UTTERLY  DENY.  For  SO  testifietli  the 
Scripture,  '  I  am  the  Lord,  and  beside  me  there  is  no 
Saviour.''  'I  am  a  just  God,  and  a  Saviour,'  &c.  So 
that  Christ  is  the  Saviour,  as  he  is  one  with  God.  And 
so  he  is  not  a  foundation,  or  the  corner  stone,  distinct 
from  God."  "  It  is  the  Spirit,  the  life,  which  was  reveal- 
ed in  that  man  (by  which  he  did  his  Father's  will)  which 
was  and  is  the  foundation,  whereupon  all  the  living 
stones  are  built."  Ibid,  pp.  154,  155. 

7.  "  What  was  that  which  saved  people  outwardly 
from  their  outward  infirmities  and  diseases,  whilst 
Christ  was  on  earth  in  that  body  1  Was  it  the  body  1 
Or  the  life,  power,  and  spirit  of  the  Father  within  the 
body,  and  manifest  through  the  body  1  And  can  any 
thing  less  save  inwardly  V  Ibid,  vol.  2,  p.  16. 


64 


8.  "  Are  not  the  children  and  he  [Christ]  of  one  ! 
Are  not  he  and  they  of  the  samestockl  (Heb.  ii.  11.) 
Is  it  not  from  thence,  that  he  is  not  ashamed  to  call 
them  brethren;  even  because  he  finds  the  nature,  spirit, 
and  life  of  his  Father  in  them  1"  Ibid,  p.  17. 

9.  "If  I,  or  any  one  else,  have  felt  the  saving  arm  of 
the  Lord  revealed  in  us  ;  if  we  have  felt  a  measure  of 
the  same  life,  power,  and  anointing  revealed  in  our 
vessels,  as  was  revealed  in  his, — is  it  not  of  the  same 
nature  1  Is  it  not  the  same  thing  1  Is  Christ  divided  1 
Is  there  one  Christ  withi/i,  and  another  without  ?" 

Ibid,  vol.  2,  p.  17. 

10.  "But  H.  G.  grants,  that  it  is  the  power  and 
spirit  of  God  himself,  or  God  alone,  that  doth  regenerate, 
and  make  men  his  children.  Whence  it  follows,  that  it 
was  not  merely  the  outward  body  of  Jesus  that  was  the 
Saviour,  though  he  was  a  Saviour  in  that  body  ;  but  it 
was  by  the  Divine  power,  or  holy  Spirit  of  the  Father  in 
him."  William  Penn''s  Chrintian  Quaker,  p.  338. 

11.  In  answer  to  an  opponent,  on  the  common  notion 
of  the  hypostatical  union,  or  the  union  of  the  Divine  and 
human  nature,  George  Whitehead  says,  "  That  the 
glorious  hypostatical  union  consists  of  a  human  and 
divine  nature,  or  that  they  are  hypostatically  one,  he 
should  bear  with  us  till  he  produce  us  plain  scripture  for 
those  positions  and  words." 

George  Whitehead's  Lux  exorta  est,  Chr.  Quak.,  p.  363. 

12.  "  And  Christ  being  exalted  at  the  Father's  right 
hand,  is  no  proof  that  he  is  remote,  separate,  or  absent 
from  his  people  and  members ;  any  more  than  that  the 


65 


Father's  right  hand  of  power  is  absent  or  remote  from 
them.  Though  we  see  what  gross  apprehensions  some  men 
have  of  God  and  Christ,  who  would  thus  exclude,  limit, 
or  circumscribe  them  ;  yea, — God,  and  his  right  hand 
of  power,  only  to  a  place  distant  from  his  people  and 
children,  as  if  he  were  a  body  or  person  like  themselves. 
His  right  hand  of  power  is  where  He  is,  and  Christ  is 
inseparably  with  and  in  the  Father,  glorified  with  the 
Father's  own  self,  even  with  the  same  glory  which  he 
had  with  him  before  the  world  began,  which  glory  is 
Divine,  invisible,  and  incomprehensible :  and  therefore 
hitman  or  earthly  nature  is  not  capable  of  that  Divine  glory 
and  power,  wherewith  the  Son  of  God  was  anointed,  digni- 
fied, and  exalted  at  God''s  right  hand.'''' 

G.  Whitehead's  Chris.  Qua.  pp.  341,  34-2. 

13.  "  Therefore  come  all  hither  ye  scattered  ones 
over  the  world  ;  the  power  of  God 'm  you  feel  ;  and  then 
you  feel  Christ  Jesus,  who  hath  enlightened  every  one 
that  cometh  into  the  Avorld.  Then  you  ^\nW  feel  the 
covenant,  which  you  have  with  God,  which  will  blot  out 
your  sins  and  transgressions :  then  you  will  feel  the  blood 
of  Christ  Jesus  which  cleanseth  from  all  sin,  which  the 
Light  discovers,  as  you  walk  in  the  light  as  he  is  in  the 
light,  and  you  will  have  fellowship  one  w'ith  another  : 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  seen,  which  is  as  a  grain  of 
mustard-seed — which  is  within.'''' 

George  Fox^s  Doctrinals,  p.  134,  fol. 

14.  "  For  Christ  is  manifest  in  the  flesh,  to  condemn 
sin  in  the  flesh  :  all  that  witness  Christ  in  them,  male 
and  female,  I  say,  Christ  manifest  in  thetr  flesh,  he  doth 
condemn  the  sin  that  is  in  their  flesh ;  yea,  and  makes 

6* 


66 


an  end  of  sin,  and  finishes  the  transgression,  and  brings 
in  everlasting-  righteousness  into  them." 

George  Fox's  Epistles,  No.  262. 

15.  "  Here  is  an  immortal,  eternal,  invisible  King, 
and  is  known  by  his  invisible,  holy  Spirit,  and  rules  in 
the  hearts,  and  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  in  men  and 
women.''''  Doctrinals,  p.  1090. 

And  the  Light,  Christ,  which  doth  enlighten  every 
man  that  comes  into  the  world,  is  sufficient  to  guide 
to  eternal  life  ;  and  he  that  believeth  in  it  shall  not  abide 
in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the  light  of  life.' 

Great  Mystery,  p.  386. 

16.  William  Penn  says,  "  In  short,  this  conclusive 
argument  for  the  proof  of  Christ  the  Saviour  being  God, 
should  certainly  persuade  all  sober  persons  of  my  inno- 
cency,*  and  my  adversaries'  malice.  He  that  is  the 
everlasting  wisdom, — the  Divine  power, — the  true 
Light, — the  only  Saviour, — the  creating  Word  of  all 
things,  whether  visible  or  invisible,  and  their  upholder 
by  his  own  power,  is,  without  contradiction,  God.  But 
all  these  qualifications  and  Divine  properties  are,  by  the 
concurrent  testimonies  of  Scripture,  ascribed  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Therefore,  without  a  scruple,  I  call,  and 
believe  him  to  be  the  Mighty  God." 

William  Penn's  Innocency  with  her  open  face,  pp.  95,  96. 

17.  "  There  is  a  great  noise  by  way  of  objection, 
among  many  of  the  professors  of  this  age,  against  the 
people  called  Quakers,  which  is  on  this  wise,  viz. : 

*  He  was  cast  into  prison  on  the  charge  of  denying  the  Divinity 
of  Christ 


67 


'We  do  not  understand,'  say  tliey,  'that  you  ever  pray 
to  God  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  cScc,  though  we  grant  you 
often  preach  and  pray,  and  many  good  exhortations 
there  are  to  be  heard  among  you  ;  but  we  seldom,  or 
never  hear  you  pray  or  preach  in  the  name  of  Jesus, 
or  you  seldom  use  the  name  of  Jesus  among  you  ;  but 
,  of  God,  and  the  Father,  and  the  Light,  and  the  poiw, 
and  the  Spirit  and  the  wisdom  of  God,  &rc.  Seeing  it  is 
written  that  whatsoever  you  do,  do  it  in  the  nameo[  the 
Lord  Jesus  ;  and  to  the  name  of  Jesus  let  every  tongue 
confess,  and  every  knee  bow ;  and  '  whatsoever  ye  ask 
in  my  name,''  saith  Jesus,  '  shall  be  given  to  you,'  &c. 

"  To  which  I  shall  endeavour  to  answer,  as  I  have 
received  of  the  Lord;  making  it  manifest  unto  the 
meanest,  simple,  sober  understanding,"  &c.  "I  do 
affirm  that  they  who  preach  and  pray  in  the  Spirit,  and 
power,  and  light,  and  wisdom  of  God,  do  pray  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  ;  for  Jesus  is  but  a  name  which  was  given  unto 
that  which  was,  before  thzt  name  was.'''' 

William  Baylifs  Works,  pp.  157,  158. 

18.  "  The  word  Christ,  in  letters,  Christ,  was 
not  known  (neither  was  there  any  occasion  of  them)  be- 
fore man  had  transgressed.  But  the /wwe?- which  was 
in  that  man  or  body  which  suffered  without  the  gate  of 
Jerusalem,  was  before  the  body  or  creature  was  made  : 
and  it  was  the  power  of  the  Most  High  which  oversha- 
dowed the  virgin  ;  and  he  said  '■  Jl  body  hast  thouprepared 
me.''  Mark,  this  was  the  life  and  power  in  the  body 
which  spoke,  in  whom  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  dwelt. 
And  he  [the  man  Jesus]  spake  and  prayed  to  his  Father, 
which  was  in  him.  (John  xiv.  11.)  So,  though  he, 
[the  life  and  power]  was  not  known  by  those  letters,  or 
the  name  Christ,  yet  he  was  with  the  Father  glorified 


68 


before  the  world  began,  and  was  the  Word  in  the  begin- 
ning, by  whom  the  world  was  made ;  who  said,  '  Before 
Abraham  was,  I  am:'  but  the  name  or  letters,  Christ, 
was  not  uiitil  many  hundred  years  «/i'er." 

William  Bayly''s  Works,  p.  94. 

19.  "  There  are  but  two  seeds  in  the  whole  creation, 
between  which  enmity  is  put,  and  are  absolutely  con- 
trary in  nature,  fruits,  and  eflects  ;  that  is,  the  seed  of 
the  serpent,  and  the  seed  of  the  woman,  which  is  Christ 
in  his  people j — the  same  to-day,  yesterday,  and  for  ever." 

Ibid,  p.  196. 

20.  "And  we  are  taught,  led,  and  guided  by,  and  are 
possessors  of  a  measure  of  tiie  same  spirit  of  grace  and 
truth,  that  was  in  that  person,  Christ,  our  elder  brother, 
that  suffered  patiently  the  contradictions  and  false  ac- 
cusations of  sinners,  as  a  lamb,  without  the  gates  of 
Jerusalem  ;  of  whose  resurrection  and  life  we  are  eye- 
witnesses." Ibid,  p.  169. 

21.  "  For  it  is  not  your  peace  and  joy  above  the  seed 
of  God  which  is  meek  and  low  of  heart,  that  will  stand 
you  in  stead  in  the  day  of  trial  ;  for  that  is  the  joy  of 
the  hypocrite  (above  the  life  of  God)  which  is  but  for  a 
moment.  But  come  you  all  down  into  the  valley  of 
tears,  and  bear  and  sufTer  with  the  precious,  groaning 
seed,  which  yet  in  bondage  lietli  in  you ;  that  so  its  joy 
ye  may  come  to  know,  which  no  man  can  take  from  you. 
And  come  to  know  the  Immanuel,  God  with  us,  and 
Christ  in  us.  And  he  that  preacheth  any  other  Saviour, 
Gospel,  or  Way  to  eternal  salvation,  but  the  Immanuel, 
the  Son  of  God,  his  life,  power,  and  wisdom,  in  him,  to 
redeem  his  soul  (which  is  in  him)  from  the  curse,  wrath, 

J 


69 


and  power  of  darkness,  which  is  in  man  ; — yea,  I  say, 
if  an  a7igel  should  preach  contrary  to  this  gospel, — the 
light  and  power  of  God,  which  is  everlasting,  whose  foun- 
dation in  man  is  already  laid; — I  say,  from  the  presence 
of  the  Lord  he  is  accursed.  For  this  testimony  I  bear 
from  the  eternal  life  and  power  of  God, that  the  Saviour 
of  man's  soul  (which  is  spiritual)  is  a  pure  spiritual 
power  of  life  and  infinite  love,  wrought  in  man,  through 
the  LIGHT  in  all  them  that  wait  in  the  uprightness  and 
quietness  of  their  spirits,  in  the  simplicity  of  their 
hearts."  Ibid^pp.  24,  25. 

22.  "  Christ  Jesus,  the  Covenant  of  God  with  all  men, 
is  peace, — and  light,  and  life,  and  salvation,  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth  :  which  is  our  testimony  to  all  men  upon 
the  earth.  "  Boctrinalsy  p.  223. 

23.  "  Question.  Whether  Christ  in  the  flesh  be  ii 
figure,  or  not  1  and  if  a  figure,  how,  and  in  what  \ 

"  Answer.  Christ  is  the  stibstnnce  of  all  figures,  and 
his  flesh  is  a  figure  :  for  every  one  passeth  through  the 
same  way  as  he  did,  who  comes  to  know  Christ  in  the 
flesh  :  there  must  be  a  suffering  with  him,  before  there 
be  a  rejoicing  with  him.  Christ  is  an  example  for  all  to 
walk  after.  And  if  thou  knewest  what  an  example  is, 
thou  wouldst  know  what  a  figure  is, — to  come  up  to  the 
same  fulness." 

G.  FoXy  SauV  s  Errand  to  Damascus,  Great  Myst.,  p.  596. 


From  the  foregoing  extracts,  it  is  manifest,  that  our 
primitive  Friends  recognized  a  distinction  "  between 
Christ,  and  the  garment  which  he  wore,"  or  the  body  iu 


70 


which  he  came  ; — between  the  "  outward  vessel,  and  the 
inward  life,  or  Word  that  was  with  God,  and  was  God, 
— and  was  tiiat  in  which  the  fuhiess  dwelt;" — that  "His 
taking  up  a  body  to  do  the  will,  made  no  alteration  in 
him, — added  nothing  to  him  ;  — that  "the  virtue,  the 
value"  of  what  was  done  by  him  "  in  the  body,  was  not 
of  the  bodj' ;  but  it  was  in  him  before  time,  in  time,  and 
will  be  after  time,  and  forever  ;" — that  "  it  is  the  Spirit, 
the  life,  that  was  revealed  in  that  man,  which  was  and 
is  the  foundation  whereupon  all  the  living  stones  are 
built;" — that  man's  nature  made  any  part  of  the  Saviour, 
they  utterly  denied  ; — that  Christ  is  the  Saviour  as  he  is 
ojie  with  God,  and  only  so  in  his  people  ; — and  that  those 
"  who  preach  and  in  the  spirit,  and  power,  and  light, 
and  wisdom  of  God,  do  pray  in  the  name  of  Jesus  ;  for 
Jesus  is  but  a  name,  which  was  given  unto  that  which 
was  before  that  name  was;" — that  "  Christ's  flesh  is  a 
figure  ;" — and  "  every  one  passeth  through  the  same 
way  as  he  [the  man  Jesus]  did,  who  comes  to  know 
Christ  in  the  flesh  ;" — that  "there  must  be  a  suffering 
with  him,  before  there  is  a  rejoicing  with  him  ;" — and 
that  he  is  "  an  example  for  all  to  walk  after,"  &c. 

To  this  summary,  I  will  add  the  testimony  of  Jesus, 
respecting  himself ;  which,  without  doubt,  is  the  highest 
external  evidence  on  this  subject,  on  record. 

"  But  I  have  greater  witness  than  that  of  John  :  for 
the  works  which  the  Father  hath  given  me  to  finish,  the 
same  works  that  1  do,  bear  witness  of  me,  that  the 
Father  liatli  sent  ine.  "   John  v.  36. 

"  The  Son  can  do  not  hing  of  himself  but  what  he  seeth 
the  Father  do."  "I  can,  of  mine  own  self  do  nothing: 
as  I  hear,  I  judge;  and  my  judgment  is  just ;  because 


71 


I  seek  not  mine  own  will,  but  the  will  of  the  Father,  that 
hath  sent  me."    Ibid,  v.  19-30. 

"  I  must  work  the  works  of  Him  that  sent  me,  while  it 
is  day ;  the  night  cometh,  when  no  man  can  work." 
Ibid,  ix.  4. 

"  The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  I  speak  not  of 
myself ;  but  the  Father  that  dwelleth  in  me,  He  doeth 
the  works."    Ibid,  xiv.  10. 

"  The  works  that  I  do  in  my  Father's  name  [power] 
they  bear  witness  of  me."  (x.  25.)  "  For  I  have  not 
spoken  of  myself  but  the  Father  who  sent  me,  he  gave 
me  a  commandment  what  I  should  say,  and  what  I  should 
speak."    Ibid,  xii.  49. 

"  1  do  nothing  of  myself  ;  but  as  my  Father  hath  taught 
me,  I  speak  these  things."  (viii.  28.)  "For  I  came 
down  from  heaven,  not  to  do  mine  one  will,  but  the  will 
of  him  that  sent  me."    Ibid,  vi.  38. 

"  The  word  which  you  hear  is  not  mine,  but  the 
Father's  which  sent  me."  (John  xiv.  24.)  "  The 
living  Father  hath  sent  me,  and  I  live  by  the  Father." 
Ibid,  vi.  57. 

"  I  have  glorified  thee  on  the  earth  ;  I  have  finished 
the  work  which  thou  gavest  me  todo^    Ibid,  xvii.  4. 

"But  to  sit  on  my  right  hand,  and  on  my  left  hand, 
is  not  mine  to  give.''''  (Mark  x.  40.)  "  But  of  that  day 
and  that  hour  knoweth  no  man  ;  no,  not  the  angels 
which  are  in  heaven,  neither  the  Son,  but  the  Father." 
Mark  xiii.  32. 

"  But  go  to  my  brethren,  and  say  unto  them,  I  ascend 
unto  my  Father  and  your  Father,  and  to  my  God,  and 
your  God."    John  xx.  17. 


The  apostles  bear  the  following  testimonies  to  the 
outward  appearance  of  Christ  in  the  prepared  body  : 


72 


That,  "  though  he  were  a  Son,  yet  learned  he  obedience 
by  the  things  which  he  suffered."  Heb.  v.  8.  That 
"  In  all  things,  it  behoved  him  to  be  made  like  unto  his 
brethren.^'  Ibid,  ii.  17.  That  "  he  was  tempted  like  as 
we  are."  Ibid,  iv.  15.  That  he  was  made  ^'■perfect 
through  sufferings."  Heb.  ii.  10.  That  he  "  suffered 
for  us,  leaving  us  an  example  that  we  should  follow  his 
steps."  1  Pet.  ii.  21.  That  he  was  "a  man,  approved 
of  God,  by  miracles,  and  wonders,  and  signs,  which 
God  did  by  him."  Acts  ii.  22.  That  "  God  anointed  him 
with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  with  power,  for  God  was 
with  him."  Acts  x.  33.  And  that,  in  his  own  country, 
he  "  could  there  do  no  mighty  works"  among  them. 
Mark  vi.  5. 

The  amount  of  the  testimony  of  Jesusrespecting  him- 
self, is  :  That  he  came  not  of  himself,  but  that  his 
Father  sent  him  to  do  his  will ;  that,  in  this  mission,  he 
had  no  power  of  himself,  to  perform  any  thing;  that  all 
that  he  spoke,  was  by  immediate  revelation  from  God, 
and  every  act  tliat  he  performed,  was  by  and  through 
the  Spirit  and  power  of  his  heavenly  Father  ;  that  the 
knowledge  of  the  day  and  hour  of  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  was  withheld  from  him.    ]\Iat.  xxiv.  36. 


I  will  now  continue  the  Review  of  the  Declaration  in 
relation  to  the  article  of  charge  (No.  XV.)  whicfi  I  have 
been  considering.  It  is  taken  from  the  Sermons,  and 
that  it  may  be  kept  in  view,  I  will  repeat  it,  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  For  he  [Jesus  Christ]  had  read  the  law  and  under- 
stood it,  because  he  was  faithful  to  the  manifestation  of 


73 


light ;  and  it  was  dispensed  to  him  in  proportion  to  his 
necessity  to  understand  the  law.  For  he  had  not  more 
given  him,  than  would  enable  him  to  fuljil  it,  the  same  as 
the  other  Israelites  ;  for  if  he  had  more,"  &c. 

The  sermon  is  here  speaking  of  the  outward,  visible, 
person, — the  man  Jesus :  nevertheless  this  extract 
appears  to  be  adduced  to  prove  tliat  Elias  Hicks  here 
denies  the  divinity  of  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  or  the 
Word  that  was  in  the  beginning  with  God,  and  was  God. 

"  That  the  outward  person,  which  suffered,"  says 
William  Penn,  "  was  properly  the  Son  of  God,  we  utterly 
deny.'''' 

"  He  is  properly  the  Son  of  God,"  says  Daniel  Phil- 
lips, "  that  hath  the  essential  properties  of  God,  but  the 
outward  person  or  body  of  Christ  hath  not  the  essential 
properties  of  God ;  therefore  the  outward  person  or 
body  of  Christ  is  not  properly  the  Son  of  God." 

Isaac  Pennington,  on  John  xiv.  9,  says,  "  What ! 
dost  thou  know  me  after  the  flesh, — after  the  body  \ 
Dost  thou  take  that  for  me  ?  Have  I  been  so  long  with 
you,  and  do  you  know  me  no  better  than  so  "?" 

"  I  came  to  see  the  idolatry  of  all  professors,  as  to  the 
person  Christ, — as  to  the  body,  flesh  and  blood ;  and 
that  the  faith  of  most  professors  went  no  further  than 
the  vail, — the  outward, — and  reached  not  to  Christ,  the 
Saviour, — the  life, — the  arm  and  power  of  God ;  not  to 
Christ  in  spirit,  but  in  flesh." 

Thomas  Zachary,  p.  6. 

"  This  [Divine  life,  or  light]  was  it  which  gave  the 
manhood  the  understanding  it  had,  and  fitted  it  for  so 
great  an  embassy :  by  whose  power  alone  it  fasted,  prayed, 

7 


74 


preached,  cast  out  devils,  wrought  miracles,  lived  the 
most  unblemished  life,  patiently  suffered  death,  was 
raised  for  a  holy  confirmation  ;  maugre  all  the  opposi 
tion  of  the  Jews."  The  "holy  manhood  was  a  chosen 
instruvient  or  vessel,  in  and  by  which  God  declared  the 
blessed  glad  tidings  of  love,  and  his  message  of  recon- 
ciliation to  the  world." 

Christian  Quaker,  pp.  199,  200. 

"  Our  righteousness,  without  Christ,  is  as  a  filthy 
rag."  "  Christ  our  righteousness,  who  is  the  true  light 
that  lighteth  every  one  that  comes  into  the  world,  we 
witness  him  the  same  Christ,  as  was  in  that  body  that 
suffered  at  Jerusalem.  And  every  one  of  the  children  of 
light,  in  the  measure  of  growth  in  him,  the  same  mind 
is  in  them,  that  was  in  Christ  Jesus." 

Williajn  Dewsbury,  p.  120. 

"  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a  man  approved  of  God  by  mira- 
cles, and  wonders,  and  signs,  which  God  did  by  htm  ; 
this  Jesus,  the  son  of  Mary,  the  Jews  with  their  wicked 
hands  did  take,  crucify,  and  slay  :  but  it  was  God  who 
loosed  the  pangs  of  death, — raised  him  up  the  third  day; 
and  God  hath  exalted  him  at  his  right  hand,  to  be  a 
prince  and  a  Saviour,  to  give  repentance,  &c.,  and  for- 
giveness of  sins."  "  So  you  may  see  here,  it  was  not 
God  that  was  crucified  and  died  ;  for  /^'e  raised  Christ  from 
the  dead  on  the  third  day." 

George  Fox^s  Doctrinals,  p.  1007. 

"  The  body  of  flesh  was  but  the  veil,  (Heb.  x.  20,) 
the  eternal  Life  was  the  substance  veiled.  The  one,  he 
[Jesus]  did  partake  of,  as  the  rest  of  the  children  did : 
the  other,  was  he  [the  man  Jesus]  Avhich  did  partake 


75 


thereof.  (Heb.  ii.  14.)  The  one  was  the  body  which 
was  prepared  for  the  life,  for  it  to  appear  in  and  be 
made  manifest:  (Heb.  x.  5.)  the  other  was  the  Light, 
or  life  itself,  for  whom  the  body  was  prepared  ;  who 
took  it  up, — appeared  in  it  to  do  the  will ;  (Psal.  xl. 
7,  8,)  and  was  made  manifest  to  those  eyes  which  were 
able  to  see  through  the  veil  wherewith  it  was  covered." 

Isaac  Pennington,  vol.  1,  p.  360. 

"Is  not  the  substance,  the  life,  the  anointing,  called 
Christ,  wherever  it  is  found  1  Doth  not  the  same  belong 
to  the  whole  body,  as  well  as  to  the  head  \  Are  they 
not  all  of  one  \  Yea,  all  one  in  the  anointing '!  Was 
not  this  the  great  desire  of  his  heart  to  the  Father,  that 
they  all  might  be  one,  even  as  the  Father  and  Christ 
were  one  1"  (John  xvii.  21,  23.)  "And  so,  being  one 
in  the  same  Spirit,  one  in  the  same  life,  one  in  the  same 
Divine  nature,  (2  Pet.  i.  4-,)  even  partakers  of  God's 
holiness,  (Heb.  xii.  10,)  Christ  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them 
brethren.  (Heb.  ii.  11.)  Nor  is  the  apostle  ashamed 
to  give  them  the  name,  C/;r2's^,  together  with  him.  (1  Cor. 
xii.  12.)  The  body  is  the  same  with  the  head ;  one  and 
the  same  in  nature:  and  doth  not  the  name  belong  to 
the  nature  in  the  whole  %  So  that  the  name  is  not  oriven 
to  the  vessel,  but  to  the  nature,  to  the  heavenly  treasure, — 
to  that  which  is  of  him  in  the  vessel, — to  that  which  the 
Lord  from  heaven  begets  in  his  own  image  and  likeness, 
of  his  own  substance, — of  his  own  seed,  of  his  own  spirit 
and  pure  life."  Isaac  Pennington,  vol.  3,  p.  54. 

"  There  was  a  nature  in  that  man,  Jesus  Christ,  that 
was  born  of  the  virgin,  that  was  subject  to  cold,  heat, 
thirst,  and  hunger,  and  subject  to  be  tempted  of  the  devil : 
and  this  nature  ivas  not  God,  whose  nature  is  infinite, 


76 


eternal,  immeasurable,  not  subject  to  hunger  or  thirst, 
nor  to  heat  and  cold,  nor  subject  to  temptations.'''' 

Edward  Burrough's  Works,  p.  637. 

"  Christ  is  the  substance  of  all  figures  ;  and  his  flesh 
is  a  figure  ;  for  every  one  passet/i  through  the  same  way  as 
HE  DID,  who  comes  to  know  Christ  in  the  flesh." 

George  Fox''s  Great  Mystery,  p.  596. 

"  And  he  [an  opponent]  saith,  '  The  saints  are  not 
as  Christ  is.'  Ans.  So  he  denies  John's  doctrine,  who 
saith:  'As  he  is,  so  are  we  in  this  present  world.'" 

Great  Mystery,  p.  401. 

The  foregoing  extracts  prove  that  our  primitive 
Friends  believed  and  taught,  that  the  outward,  visible 
person  of  Jesus,  or  the  "holy  manhood,"  was  a  chosen  in- 
strument or  vessel,  in  and  by  which  God  declared  the 
blessed  glad  tidings  of  love,  and  his  message  of  recon- 
ciliation, to  the  world."  (Wm.  Penn.) — That,  because 
he  was  a  visible  object,  and  "subject  to  cold  and  heat, 
thirst  and  hunger,  and  subject  to  be  tempted  of  the 
devil,"  he  was  not  God.  (G.  Whitehead  and  E.  Bur- 
rough.) — That  "  this  Jesus,  the  son  of  Mary,  the  Jews 
with  their  wicked  hands  did  crucify  and  slay  ;"  but  that 
"  it  was  not  God  that  was  crucified  and  died  ; — for  it 
was  God  that  loosed  the  pangs  of  death,  and  that  raised 
him  up  that  was  crucified,  on  the  third  day."  (George 
Fox.) — That  "  the  body  of  flesh  was  but  the  veil  ;  and 
that  the  eternal  life  Avas  the  substance  veiled ; — that  Jesus 
did  partake  of  this  eternal  life,  as  the  rest  of  the  children 
did; — that  the  one  was  the  body  which  was  prepared  for 
the  life,  for  it  to  appear  in,  and  be  made  manifest ;  the 
other  was  the  light  itself,  for  whom  the  body  was  pre- 


77 


pared."  That  "  the  faith  of  most  professors  went  no 
further  than  the  veil,  the  ontwart],  and  reached  not  to 
Christ,  the  Saviour,  the  life,  the  arm  and  power  of  God." 
(Thomas  Zachary.) — Hence,  the  visible  outward  person, 
the  veil,  was  not  Christ  the  Saviour  ;  for  "  he  is  one  with 
God."  (I.  Pennington.) 

"  This  [the  Divine  light]  was  it,"  says  Wm.  Penn, 
"  which  o-ave  the  manhood  the  wider  standing  it  had,  and 
fitted  it  for  so  great  an  embassy,"  &c.  "  Every  one," 
says  George  Fox,  "  passeth  through  the  same  way  as  he 
did,  that  comes  to  know  Christ  in  the  flesh."  The  apos- 
tles testify  of  him,  that  he  learned  obedience  by  the 
things  which  he  sufl"ered  ;  that  in  all  things,  it  behoved 
him  to  be  made  like  unto  his  brethren  ;  that  he  was  made 
perfect  through  sufl^erings; — that  he  suffered,  leaving  us 
an  exam-pie  that  we  should  follow  his  steps.  Respecting 
himself,  Jesus  testifies,  that  of  his  own  self  he  could  do 
nothing;  and  that  he  spoke  and  acted  in  all  things,  as 
his  Father  taught,  directed,  and  empowered  him.  And 
when  about  to  leave  his  disciples,  he  addressed  them 
with  this  encouraging  exhortation  :  "  Be  of  good  cheer  ; 
I  have  overcome  the  world.''^ 

From  the  tenor  of  the  quotation  from  the  Sermon,  and 
the  views  of  primitive  Friends,  as  presented  by  the  fore- 
going extracts,  and  likewise  from  the  testimonies  of  the 
apostles,  and  even  of  Jesus  himself,  it  is  rendered  evi- 
dent that  it  is  not  Christ  the  Saviour,  the  Word,  the 
power,  and  the  wisdom  of  God,  that  the  sermon  com- 
ments on,  but  the  man  Christ  Jesus  /  and  hence  that  noth- 
ing  therein  is  affirmed  or  denied,  respecting  the  Divinity 
of  Christ. 

The  quotation  says  that  Jesus  "  was  faithful  to  the 
manifestation  of  light,"  and  therefore  understood  the 

7* 


78 


law.  To  the  term  manifestation,  as  applied  to  Jesus,  the 
Declaration  objects.  And  wherefore  "!  Jesus  has  de- 
clared that  he  could  do  nothing  of  himself,  and  that  the 
knowledge  he  had,  the  words  he  spoke,  were  from  his 
Father's  instruction  ;  and  the  works  he  did,  were  by  the 
power  which  He  conferred  upon  him.  God  is  Light, 
and  by  his  light  every  man  is  enlightened  that  cometh 
into  the  world  :  and  whatsoever  maketh  manifest  is  light. 
Was  it  not  by  this  light  that  God  revealed  His  will  to 
Jesus  1  "Christ  in  the  flesh,"  says  George  Fox,  "  is  a 
figure,  an  example  ;  and  every  one  passeth  through  the 
same  way  as  he  did,  that  comes  to  know  Christ  in  the 
flesh." 

"  By  feeling  and  knowing  the  Lamh  in  our  vessels," 
says  Isaac  Pennington,  "  we  know  also  what  was  the 
Lamb  in  his  vessel^  Again  he  says :  "  That  which 
sanctified  and  kept  his  body  pure,  and  made  all  accep- 
table in  him,  was  the  life,  [or  light]  holiness,  and  right- 
eousness of  the  Spirit.  And  the  same  thing  that  kept 
his  vessel  pure,  it  is  the  the  same  thing  that  cleanseth  us." 

Jesus  had  a  will.  "  I  came  not  to  do  mine  ovm  will," 
said  he.  "  Not  my  will  but  thine  be  done."  Was  not 
that  will  free  !  Was  he  not  like  unto  us  in  all  things, 
sin  excepted  \  If  his  will  was  not  free,  t\ie  parallel  fails 
in  the  most  essential  part.  To  have  a  will,  and  that  will 
under  the  absolute  control  of  another,  is  equivalent  to 
having  no  will  at  all. 

"  Christ,"  [the  man  Jesus,]  saj^s  Isaac  Pennington, 
"  trusted  his  Father,  and  obeyed  his  Father  in  all  things. 
Now  was  not  that  an  effect  of  the  righteous  nature  and 
spirit  of  the  Father  in  him  ?    He  became  obedient  unto 


79 


death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross ;  and  oh  !  how  was 
his  Father  pleased  therewith  !  Did  he  not  say  to  him,  as 
to  Abraham  in  a  like  case,  '  because  thou  hast  done  this 
thing,  in  blessing  I  will  bless  thee  '.'  "  Vol  iv,  p.  304. 

Can  obedience  be  predicated  of  him  who  has  no  will  or 
power  to  transgress  ?  Did  not  the  merit  of  Jesus  con- 
sist in  resigfning:  or  submitting'  his  own  will  to  the  will 
of  his  heavenly  Father  \  And  was  it  not  that  obedience 
which  received  the  blessing  % 

The  Scripture  testifies  that  he  "  was  faithful  to  Him 
that  appointed  him,  as  also  Closes  was  faithful  in  all  his 
house."  Heb.  iii.  2, 

"The  language  of  Scripture,"  says  William Penn,  "  is 
often  hyperbolical.  Thus  "the  disciples  were ^//ec? with 
the  Holy  Ghost."  "Joshua  was  full  of  the  spirit  of 
wisdom."  And  the  apostles  desired,  in  addressing 
the  Ephesians,  that  thej'  might  "  be  filled  with  all  the  ful- 
ness of  Gody  Yet,  it  will  not  be  presumed  that  more 
was  dispensed,  in  these  cases,  than  their  necessities  re- 
quired. 


The  next  quotation  from  the  sermons  is  as  follows  : 
Article  XVI.  "  AA'e  must  turn  our  back  upon  them, 
and  come  home  to  the  light  of  God  in  us;  for  it  is  the 
same  spirit  and  life  that  was  in  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of 
God.  We  need  not  say  that  it  is  his  spirit,  but  only  that 
it  is  the  same  spirit,  a  portion  of  which  was  in  him ;  be- 
cause as  reasonable  beings,  we  must  always  take  things 
rationally.''^    Vol.  i.  p.  197. 


80 


This  extract  is  so  mutilated,  that  there  is  no  antecedent 
to  the  pronoun  "  them."  I  will  give  so  much  of  the  con- 
text as  is  necessary  to  a  fair  construction  of  it,  putting 
the  garbled  extract  in  italics,  viz : 

"But  as  soon  as  our  will  is  slain,  and  we  become 
sive  under  the  divine  light  and  grace,  we  do  nothing  but 
the  will  of  God.  Therefore,  all  our  transgressions  being 
brought  to  lie  before  us,  we  see  the  dreadfulness  of  sin, 
and  we  try  to  avoid  all  the  wretched  things  that  we  have 
been  doing  through  our  past  life.  Here  we  are  brought 
into  the  situation  and  state  of  a  child  ;  it  is  a  new  form 
and  state,  from  which  we  can  rise  into  a  state  of  virtue; 
a  state  in  which  we  can  answer  the  great  end  of  our 
creation,  to  glorify  God  and  enjoy  him.  Now,  don't 
think,  my  friends,  that  you  can  ever  get  to  heaven  in 
any  other  way  ;  don't  suffer  such  thoughts,  but  resist 
them.  \_We  must  turn  our  back  upon  them,  and  come  home 
to  the  light  of  God  in  us  ;  for  it  is  the  same  spirit  and  life 
vMch  was  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  We  need  not 
say  that  it  is  his  spirit,  but  only  that  it  is  the  same  spirit,  a 
portion  of  which  was  in  him  ;  because  as  reasonable  beings, 
we  must  always  take  things  rationally.^  When  Jesus  was 
externally  on  earth,  the  light  within  him  was  all  com- 
prehended in  that  tabernacle  which  was  seen  moving 
about.  Now  what  became  of  the  rest  of  the  world,  if  all 
was  in  the  man  Jesus'!  And  if  so,  we  must  have  all 
our  help  from  that  which  was  in  him.  But  we  all  have 
the  same  light  dispensed  to  us  from  the  same  source, — 
from  Him  that  was  in  Jesus,  and  who  ever  was  and  will 
be  the  great  I  am,  the  Alpha  and  Omega.' 

The  sentence  in  the  extract,  "  as  reasonable  beings, 
we  must  always  take  things  rationally,''''  is  objected  to. 


J 


81 


To  which  I  would  ask,  Must  we,  as  irrational  beings, 
take  things  inatianallii  I  For  tliere  are  but  these  two 
ways  of  taking  things. 

"Greater  impertinency,"  says  Wm.  Penn,  "no  man  can 
be  guilty  of,  than  to  affirm  or  teach,  that  there  is  a  reve- 
lation not  immediate.  It  is  a  direct  contradiction  in  terms; 
for  that  which  is  revealed,  must  be  immediately,  or  else 
it  cannot  iiATio.NAi.LY  be  arevelation,  but  tradition  rather." 
Vol.  2,  folio,  pp.  395,  396.  Here  William  Penn  uses  the 
word  in  the  same  sense  as  the  sermon. 

"  Although  it  is  no  part  of  my  belief,  that  the  natural 
reason  of  every  man,  is  able  to  be  rule,  judge,  and  guide 
to  any  man  in  the  things  of  God  5  yet  faith  is  not  in  op- 
position to  pure  reason  ;  neither  is  pure  and  spiritual 
reason  in  opposition  to  true  faith,  but  in  harmony  with 
it,  and  one  with  another,  as  they  are  the  gifts  of  God." 

Francis  HowgilTs  Works,  p.  634'. 

"  God  hath  not  given  us  our  reason  for  no  purpose  ; 
but  he  hath  given  us  our  rational  faculties  that  we 
should  make  use  of  them  for  his  glory  ;  yet  always  in 
subjection  to  his  power  and  spirit." 

Robert  Barclay  on  Discipline,  p.  39. 

In  the  context  which  I  have  quoted,  the  speaker  says 
that  we  must  '■^  become  passive  under  the  Divine  light  and 
grace,^^  &c.,  which  amounts  to  the  same  as  to  tell  us  that 
we  are  not  to  depend  upon  our  natural  reason  in  the 
work  of  salvation.  And  this  view  is  maintained  through- 
out all  the  sermons.  It  is  evidently,  therefore,  not  his 
meaning  to  exalt  reason,  at  the  expense  of  revelation. 
Yet  the  reason  is  as  much  a  gift  of  God  as  is  Divine 


82 


Light,  which  acts  upon  the  reason,  and  purifies,  and 
ilkiminates  it ;  and  witliout  the  faculty  of  reason,  man 
is  either  an  idiot,  or  a  maniac.  But  in  the  use  of  these 
terms,  the  speaker,  as  appears  by  what  follows  the  part 
quoted,  had  allusion  to  the  doctrine,  that  the  f  ulness  of 
the  Godhead  was  in  the  ma/i  Jesus,  in  that  outward,  visi- 
ble appearance. 

"  The  body  of  flesh,"  says  Isaac  Pennington,  "was  but 
the  veil ;  the  eternal  life  was  the  substance  veiled  j"  and 
which  "he  [the  man  Jesus]  did  partake  thereof,  as  the 
?-esi  of  the  children  did,''''  Sec.  (See  the  extracts  already 
given  on  this  subject ;  wherein  it  is  declared  that  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead  dwelt,  not  in  the  man  Jesus,  but 
in  Christ,  the  Word.) 

Isaac  Pennington  says, "  he  partook"  of  it ;  and  the  ser- 
mon says  he  had  "  a  portion  "  of  it.  Now,  to  partake 
of  it,  and  to  have  a  portion  of  it,  appear  to  me  to  amount 
to  the  same  thing.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  had  enough 
to  "  fit  hina,"  (to  use  the  words  of  William  Penn)  "  for 
so  great  an  embassy ;  and  more  than  this  would  have 
been  superfluous." 

Exception  is  taken  to  the  passage  in  the  extract, 
which  says,  "  We  need  not  say  it  is  his  spirit,  but  only 
that  it  is  the  same  spirit,"  &;c.  Isaac  Pennington  says: 
"  And  when  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  was  upon  him,  moving 
him  to  preach  the  gospel,  he  preached  the  gospel  in  the 
spirit  ?iind  power  oithe  Father;  for  he  did  nothing  of  himself 
or  in  his  ou'Ti  will.''''  Likewise  William  Penn  says,  "  This 
[the  Divine  Spirit]  was  it  which  gave  the  manhood  the 
understanding  it  had,  and  fitted  it  for  so  great  an  em- 
bassy," &c.    There  is  but  one  Divine  Spirit,  and  that  is 


83 


God's  Spirit.  "  I  will  put  my  Spirit  upon  him,"  &c 
Jesus  or  the  m(mhood,  never  assumes  to  possess  it  as 
"  his  own  Spirit." 


Article  XVII.  The  next  extract  in  the  Declaration 
being  mutilated,  I  will  include  a  part  of  the  context,  put- 
ting the  charge  in  brackets  and  italics.  It  is  taken 
from  the  Darby  Sermon,  p.  13. 

"  '  If  I  do  not  the  works  of  my  Father,  believe  me  not, 
but  if  I  do,  though  you  believe  not  me,  believe  the  works.' 
Here  we  see  it  is  not  by  what  people  profess  or  believe, 
that  we  are  to  judge  of  them,  but  by  their  works  anddoings. 
If  all  their  works  give  evidence  that  they  arise  from  the 
love  of  God,  if  they  are  clothed  with  his  love,  and  wisdom, 
and  humility,  this  exalts  the  creature,  for  it  is  only  the 
humble  soul  that  is  exalted  of  Goi;\^andwhat  encourage- 
ment, my  friends,  we  receive  through  this  medium,  when  we 
arc  brought  by  the  light  into  a  feeling  of  unity  with  our  great 
Pattern,  Jesus  Christ,  and  with  God  our  Creator.  0!  see 
how  we  come  up  into  an  equality  with  him.^  We  are  swal- 
lowed up  in  his  righteousness,  having  no  will  of  our  own, 
but  always  at  his  disposal,  going  on  in  the  increase  of 
a  right  knowledge  of  God's  perfections,  and  of  his  ex- 
cellency." 


Akticle  XVIII.  The  next  extract  is  also  garbled.  I 
give  it,  therefore,  (in  italics  and  brackets,)  with  the  part 
connected  with  it,  and  necessary  to  get  the  sense  of  the 
speaker. 


84 


"And  the  spirit  by  which  he  [the  man  Jesus]  was 
actuated,  is  that  light  and  life,  which  is  the  Saviour  of 
the  soul.  And  it  was  the  same  light  and  life,  which  is 
the  light  and  life  of  God  ;  for  he  [Jesus]  derived  it  from 
God,  his  heavenly  Father  ;  [and we  derive  a  portion  of  the 
same  which  is  able  to  save  the  soul,  if  properly  obeyed.  Here 
now  [that  is,  in  this  respect]  he  was  put  upon  a  level  ;'\ 
and  for  this  reason  Jesus  called  the  children  of  God  his 
brethren,  saying,  '  I  will  declare  thy  name  unto  my 
brethren  ;  in  the  midst  of  the  church  will  I  sing  praise 
unto  thee.'  "  Darby  Sermon,  p.  17. 

The  exception  is  to  the  words  "  an  equality  with  him;" 
and  "  he  was  put  upon  a  level." 

Within  two  pages  from  whence  one  of  these  extracts 
is  taken,  we  find  the  following  :  "  The  apostle  says,  that 
he  is  our  example,  that  we  should  follow  his  steps.  But 
if  he  had  any  inore  power  than  we  have,  how  could  he 
bean  example  to  us?  He  had  no  more  power  than 
would  enable  him  to  do  the  will  of  God;  and  he  had  it 
in  its  fulness,  and  of  this  every  rational  creature  has  his 
proportion.  He  had  more,  because  he  had  a  much  greater 
work  to  perform."  Quaker,  vol.  1,  p.  16. 

Then,  the  proper  construction  is,  that  the  equality 
spoken  of,  isrelative  and  not  absolute.  We  receive,  with 
the  man  Jesus,  of  the  same  spirit,  and  in  the  same  propor- 
tion to  our  need  and  capacity,  as  he  did.  "  He  had 
more,  because  he  had  a  much  greater  work  to  perform." 

The  objection  lies  equally,  even  against  Jesus,  and 
the  apostle  Paul.  "  That  they  all  may  be  one,  as  thou, 
Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be 
one  in  us."  John  xvii.  21.  This  is  the  equality  meant, 
and  lies  in  the  "feeling  of  unity."  "  He  gave  some 
apostles,"  &c.,  says  Paul,  "  for  the  perfecting  of  the 


85 


saints, — for  the  work  of  the  ministry, — for  the  edifying 
of  the  body  of  Christ :  till  we  all  come  in  the  unity  of 
the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto 
a  perfect  man, — unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the 
fulness  of  Christ."    Eph.  iv.  13. 

A  similar  charge  was  brought  against  George  Fox ; 
namely,  for  saying  that  he  was  equal  with  God.  To  tliis 
he  answered,  "  That  was  not  so  spoken ;  but  that  He  that 
sanctifieth,  and  they  that  are  sanctified,  are  of  one;  (Heb. 
ii.  11  ;)  and  the  saints  are  all  one,  in  ihe  Father  and  the 
Son ;  of  his  flesli  and  of  his  bone.  Tiiis  the  Scripture 
doth  witness  ;  and  '  ye  are  the  sons  of  God ;'  and  the 
Father  and  the  Son  are  one;  and  'they  that  arc  joined  to 
the  Lord  are  one  spirit :  and  they  that  are  joined  to  a  har- 
lot are  one  flesh.'  " 

Saul's  Errand  to  Damascus,  Gr.  Mystery,  p.  594. 

In  like  manner,  Francis  Howgill  replies  to  an  opponent : 
"  The  first  thing  thy  dark  mind  stumbles  at,  is,  that  some 
have  said  that  '  they  that  have  the  spirit  of  God,  are  equal 
with  God.'  He  tliat  hath  the  spirit  of  God,  is  in  that 
which  is  equal,  as  God  is  equal  and  his  ways  equal.  And 
he  that  is  joined  to  the  Lord,  is  one  spirit :  there  is  unity, 
and  unity  stands  in  equality  itself.  He  that  is  born  from 
above,  is  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  he  said,  '  I  and  my  Father 
are  one.'  And  when  the  Son  is  revealed  and  speaks,  the 
Father  speaks  in  him,  and  he  in  the  Father,  in  that  which 
is  equal,  in  equality  itself;  there  is  equably  in  nature, 
though  not  in  stature."    p.  232. 

"  Every  one  of  the  children  of  Light,  in  the  measure  of 
growth  in  Him,  the  same  mind  is  in  them  that  was  in  Christ 
Jesus."  William  Dewsbery,  p.  120. 

8 


86 


"  And  so,  being  one  in  tlie  same  spirit, — one  in  the  same 
life, — one  in  the  same  Divine  nature,  (2  Pet.  i.  4,)  even 
partakers  of  Goers  holiness,  (Heb.  xii.  10,)  Christ  is  not 
ashamed  to  call  them  brethren  :  (Heb.  ii,  11.)  nor  is  the 
apostle  ashamed  to  give  them  the  name,  Christ,  toffether 
with  him."    (1  Cor.  xi.  12.) 

Isaac  Pennington's  Works,  vol.  3,  p.  54. 

I  proceed  to  the  next  extract. 


Article  XIX.  "  Here  we  find  that  the  Son  of  God 
saw  no  alternative  ;  for  if  he  gave  up  his  testimony  in  order 
to  save  his  natuial  life,  he  could  not  be  saved  with  God's 
salvation  :  hence  he  surrendered  to  the  divine  will,  rather 
than  to  lose  his  standing  and  favour  with  his  iUmighty 
Father;  and  what  a  blessed  example  it  was." 

Darby  Sermon,  p.  16. 

Tlie  Sermon,  immediately  preceding  this  extract,  alludes 
to  the  deeply  affecting  scene,  described  in  Matt.  xxvi.  36, 
6ic.  "  Then  cometh  Jesus  with  them  unto  a  place  called 
Gethsemane,  and  sailh  unto  the  disciples,  ♦  Sit  3'e  here, 
while  I  go  and  pray  yonder.'  And  he  took  with  him  Peter 
and  the  two  sons  of  Zebedee,  and  began  to  be  sorrowful, 
and  verj-  heavy.  Then  saith  he  unto  them,  '  My  soul  is 
exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death ;  tarry  ye  here  and 
watch  with  me.'  And  he  went  a  little  farther,  and  fell  on 
his  face,  and  prayed,  saying,  '  0  my  Father,  if  it  be  possi- 
ble, let  this  cup  pass  from  me  !  nevertheless,  not  as  I  will, 
but  as  thou  wilt.'  And  he  coraetli  unto  the  disciples,  and 
findcth  them  asleep,  and  saith  unto  Peter,  '  Wliat !  could 
ye  not  watch  with  me  one  hour  I  Watch,  and  pray  that 
ye  enter  not  into  temptation :  the  spirit  indeed  is  willing, 


87 


but  the  flesh  is  weak.'  He  went  away  again  the  second 
time,  and  prayed,  saying,  '  O  luy  Father,  if  this  cup  may 
not  pass  away  from  me,  except  I  drink  it,  thy  will  be  done  I' 
And  he  came,  and  found  them  asleep  again,  for  their  eyes 
were  heavy.  And  he  left  them,  and  went  away  again,  and 
prayed  the  third  time,  saying  the  same  words.  Then 
Cometh  he  to  his  disciples,  and  saitii  unlo  them,  '  Sleep  on 
now,  and  take  your  rest ;  behold,  the  hour  is  at  hand,  and 
the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  sinners.'  " 

There  is  no  part  of  the  history  of  Jesus,  that  furnishes 
so  striking  an  evidence,  as  does  the  above  account,  of  the 
truth  of  the  testimony,  that  he  was  made  like  unto  us  in  all 
things,  sin  excepted  ;  or  that  more  forcibly  exhiljits  his 
entire  dependence  on  his  heavenly  Father.  "  O  my  Father  ! 
if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me,"  is  the  universal 
language  of  human  naUire  under  the  pressure  of  heavy 
afiliction  and  trials.  But  strength  from  Him  alone  who  is 
"mighty  to  deliver,"  prompts  the  saving  clause,  "Never- 
theless not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt."  And  as  we  dwell 
under  this  power,  a  holy  resignation  is  experienced,  and 
we  are  enabled,  with  Jesus,  to  pronounce  the  holiest  of 
anthems — "  Thy  will  be  done." 

"That  which  sanctified,  and  kept  the  body  pure,  and 
made  all  acceptable  in  him,  was  the  life,  righteousness,  and 
holiness  of  the  Spirit.  And  the  same  thing  which  kept  his 
vessel  pure,  it  is  the  same  thing  that  cleanseth  us."  (Isaac 
Pennington,  vol.  3,  p.  34.)  For  he  conquered  all  his  soul's 
enemies  "  in  our  capacity,  in  every  respect  in  our  capacity, 
except  sin :  and  therefore,  as  the  arms  in  which  he  con- 
quered are  ours,  we  certainly  m.iy,  if  we  will  but  avail  our- 
selves of  the  force  and  omnipotency  thereof,  conquer  all 
the  arts  and  powers  of  hell."    [Job  ScotVs  Salvation  by 


88 


Christ.)  Hence  he  said,  "  Be  of  good  cheer  ;  for  I  have 
overcome  the  world."  And  this  he  could  not  have  said  in 
sincerity,  liad  he  not  conquered  in  our  capacity. 

The  holy  child  Jesus,  according  to  apostolic  testimony, 
was  "  subject "  to  his  parents,  "  waxed  strong  in  spirit," 
and  "  increased  in  wisdom,  and  in  stature,  and  in  favour 
with  God  and  man  :"  and  thus  by  the  light  and  life  of  the 
Word,  he  was  enabled  to  do  the  will, — to  fulfil  and  abolish 
the  law.  And  as  John  prepared  the  way  for  him,  so  he 
opened  the  way  in  the  minds  of  men,  for  the  spiritual  ad- 
ministration, by  miracles,  signs,  and  wonders  which  God 
did  by  him,  as  well  as  by  his  sublime  instructions,  and 
most  heavenly  example  of  purity :  for  in  his  whole  life, 
doctrine  and  death,  did  shine  forth  the  clearest  evidence  of 
truth,  goodness,  mercy,  patience,  deep  travail  for  the  world, 
self-denial,  holiness,  and  triumphant  martyrdom. 

See  William  Perm's  Christian  Quaker,  p.  200. 


Article  XX.  "  He  was  tempted  in  all  points  as  we 
are.  Now,  how  could  he  be  tempted,  if  he  had  been  fixed 
in  a  state  of  perfection,  in  which  he  could  not  turn  aside. 
Can  you  suppose,  as  rational  beings,  that  such  a  being 
could  be  tempted  ?  No  ;  not  any  more  than  God  Almighty 
could  be  tempted.  Perfection  is  perfection,  and  cannot  be 
tempted.    It  is  impossible.^' 

Philada.  Sermons,  p.  253. 

To  this  extract  is  added  the  following  remark:  "  It  would 
follow  from  this  argument,  that  Elias  Hicks  does  not  believe 
that  our  blessed  Lord  was  perfect."  [that  is,  free  from  sin.] 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  this  insinuation  could  have 


89 


been  made  in  the  face  of  wliat  Elias  Hicks  said  at  Darby 
{^Quaker,  vol.  1,  p.  16,)  in  relation  to  the  crucifixion  of 
Jesus:  "But  by  this  he  was  made  a  perfect  example  to 
us,  to  show  us  that  for  the  testimony  of  God  our  Creator, 
we  must  be  willing,  as  Jesus  was,  \.o  surrender  every  thing 
unto  God,  and  to  do  His  will  in  every  thing,  even  if  it 
cost  us  our  natural  lives.^^  No  created  being  can  advance 
beyond  this. 

The  "  perfection  "  meant  by  the  Sermon,  is  a  state  of 
glorious  immuiability ;  a  "perfection"  which  is  infinite, 
and  which  belongs  to  God  only.  This  must  be  evident  to 
every  candid  reader. 

"  There  was  a  nature  in  that  man  Jesus  Christ  that  was 
born  of  the  virgin,  that  was  subject  to  cold  and  heat,  thirst 
and  hunger,  and  subject  to  be  tempted  of  the  devil:  and 
this  nature  was  not  God,  whose  nature  is  infinite,  eternal, 
immeasurable ;  not  subject  to  hunger,  or  thirst,  nor  to  lieat 
and  cold,  nor  subject  to  temptation.^' 

Edward  Burroughs,  p.  637. 

"  Let  no  man  say,  when  he  is  tempted,  I  am  tempted  of 
God  ;  for  God  cannot  be  tempted  with  evil,  neither  temptet^:^ 
he  any  man."    James  i.  13, 


Articlj:  XXI.  "  Every  Christian  must  come  up  under 
the  influence  of  the  same  Light  that  guided  Jesus  Christ ; 
that  Christ  that  was  his  Saviour,  and  Presei-ver,  and  that 
power  which  enabled  him  to  do  his  work,  will  enable  ustOi 
come  on  in  die  same  path." 

Decl.  p.  22.    Quaker,  vol.  1,  p.  44. 
8* 


90 


PARALLEL  PASSAGES. 

"  The  seed  was  formed  into  a  vessel  like  ours,  but  with- 
out sin,  in  which  the  pure  lamb  appeared  in  tlie  pure  power 
of  life,  which  kept  the  vessel  pure ;  and  so  he  who  was  to 
be  tlie  first  fruits,  had  the  honour  above  all  his  brethren  ; 
being  anointed  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  his  fellows.^' 
"  By  feeling  and  knowing  the  lamb  in  our  vessels,  we  know 
ilso  what  was  the  lamb  in  his  vessel." 

Isaac  Pennington,  vol.  3,  p.  30. 

"  In  subjection  to  the  same  will  which  the  head  obeyed,^^ 
"  are  the  members  sanctified."       Ibid,  vol.  4,  p.  128. 

"  We  witness  him  the  same  Christ  as  was  in  that 
BODY  that  suffered  at  Jerusalem." 

William  Dewsbery,  p.  120. 

"  He  had  a  greater  anointing,  than  the  rest  of  his  breth- 
ren," Elias  Hicks,  Quaker,  vol.  1,  p.  42. 

"  Is  not  the  substance,  tlie  life,  tlie  anointing,  called 
Christ,  wherever  it  is  found?  Doth  not  the  nvrnie  belong 
to  the  whole  body  (and  every  niember  of  the  body)  as  well 
as  to  the  Head  ?" 

"  And  the  same  thing  that  kept  his  vessel  pure,  it  is  the 
same  thing  that  cleanseth  us."  (Pennington,  before  quoted.) 
That  "  same  thing  "  was  the  Spirit,  or  Christ  the  Word. 
To  be  saved  and  preserved,  is  it  not  the  same  as  to  be  kept 
pure  ? 


Article  XXII.  "  I  don't  want  to  express  a  great  many 
words,  but  I  want  you  to  be  called  home  to  the  substance. 
For  the  Scriptures  and  all  the  books  in  the  world  can  do 


91 


no  more.  Jesus  could  do  no  more  than  to  recomineud  to 
this  Comforter,  which  was  this  Hght  in  liim." 

Quaker,  vol.  l,p.  40. 

The  following  texts  of  Scripture  are  connected  with  the 
above  extract,  and  necessary  for  a  riglit  construction  of  it : 

"  And  I  will  pray  the  Father ;  and  He  shall  give  you 
another  Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  for  ever, 
even  the  Spirit  of  Truth."    John  xiv.  16, 

"  Nevertheless,  I  tell  you  the  truth  ;  it  is  expedient  for 
you  that  I  go  away  ;  for  if  /  go  not  away,  the  Comforter 
will  not  come  unto  you  ;  but  if  I  depart,  I  will  send  him 
unto  you."  "  Ilowbeit,  when  he  the  Spirit  of  truth  is 
come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all  truths  "  But  tarry  ye  in 
the  city  of  Jerusalem,  until  ye  he  endued  with  power 
from  on  high" 

«'  He  that  believeth  on  me,  as  the  Scripture  hath  said, 
out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water.  But  this 
(says  John)  spake  he  of  the  Spirit,  which  they  that  be- 
lieve on  him  should  receive  ;  for  die  Holy  Ghost  was  not 
yet  given,  because  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified." 

It  is  rendered  clear  by  these  testimonies  of  Scripture, 
that  the  administration  of  Christ  in  the  flesh,  was  outward; 
for  the  Holy  Ghost  was  not  yet  given, — the  Spirit  was  not 
yet  received  in  the  heart :  and  this  made  the  distinction 
between  the  old  covenant  and  the  new.  This  further  ap- 
pears from  the  fact,  that  although  the  disciples  had  "  walk- 
ed" with  their  Master  for  yeais, — had  been  his  constant 
companions, — had  the  benefit  of  his  instructions  and  gos- 
pel precepts,  given  both  in  public  and  in  private, — had  his 
parables  graciously  expounded  to  them, — and  had  witness- 
ed his  stupendous  miracles,  yet,  wlien  the  time  of  trial 
came  that  would  test  their  love  and  fidelity  to  him,  and  to 


92 


that  gospel  which  they  had  lieard  liim  declare  in  so  clear,  so 
sublime,  and  so  engaging  a  manner,  one  of  them  betrayed 
him,  another  denied  him,  and  all  forsook  him  ! ! 

The  dispensations  of  God  to  men,  have  ever  been,  and 
ever  will  be  to  their  state  ,  for  he  forces  not  himself  upon 
tliem.  Hence,  to  the  outward  he  appears  outward. 
"  With  the  merciful,  thou  wilt  sliow  thyself  merciful ;  and 
with  the  upright  man,  thou  M'ilt  show  thyself  upright. 
With  the  pure  thou  wilt  show  thyself  pure  ;  and  widi  the 
froward,  thou  wilt  show  thyself  unsavoury."  2  Sam. 
xxii.  26,  27. 

The  blessed  Jesus  knew  what  was  in  man.  "  He  knew 
the  outward  state  of  his  disciples  ;  he  saw  that  his  continu- 
ance among  them  Mould  keep  them  outward,  (for  they 
"  almost  doated  upon  his  outward  manifestation" — William 
Penn,)  and  act  as  a  veil  upon  their  hearts ;  ("  Christ's 
flesh  was  a  veil  " — George  Fox,)  therefore  he  said,  "  It  is 
expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away  ;  for  if  I  go  not  away, 
the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you." 

On  the  whole,  it  appears  clear  that  tlie  ministration  of 
Jesus  was  external ;  and  necessarily  so,  as  being  in  wisdom 
adapted  to  the  condition  of  those  to  whom  he  was  sent ; 
that  his  disciples  were  outward,  and  so  continued  to  the 
last,  to  an  almost  incredible  extent ;  as  is  proved  by  the 
fact,  that  after  he  had  risen  and  appeared  among  them, 
"  they  asked  him,  saying.  Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time, 
restore  again  the  kingdom  to  Israel?" 

We  are  told  by  Mark  (ch.  vi.)  that  Jesus,  among  his 
own  kin,"  "  could  do  no  mighty  work  ;"  "  and  he  mar- 
velled because  of  their  unbelief."  The  case  before  us,  is 
parallel  to  this,  and  was  a  like  circumstance,  over  which 


93 


Jesus  had  as  little  control ;  for  the  belief  of  his  disciples 
was  still  in  an  outward,  and  not  in  an  inward  kingdom. 
And  he  informed  them  that  his  heavenly  Father  held  the 
times  and  seasons  "  in  his  own  power."    He  therefore 

could  do  no  morc^''  than  to  recommend  them  to  that 
"  Comforter," — to  the  mhstanct, — to  that  Light, — to  that 
Christ  within,  the  power  of  God,  and  the  wisdom  of  God, 
which  had  "  kept  his  vessel  pure  ;"  [Pennington  ;)  and 
without  which,  he  had  declared  that  he  could  "  do 
nothing."  Hence,  his  parting  counsel  to  them  was, 
"  Tarry  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  until  ye  be  endued  with 
power  from  on  highy 

The  event  of  tliis  weighty  advice,  proved  that  their 
blessed  Master  had  been  "  faithful  to  Him  thalT'appointed 
him."  For  when  the  auspicious  season  an-ived  in  which 
the  Holy  Ghost  was  given,  when  the  power  came  from  on 
high  upon  those  who  had,  but  a  short  time  before,  proved 
tliemselves  so  weak,  so  timid,  so  faitldess,  and  irreso- 
lute, they  were  found  to  he  fully  prepared  by  the  blessed 
ministry  and  labours  of  Jesus,  to  receive  it ;  and  how  they 
courageously  braved  all  the  powers  of  the  world  which 
rose  up  against  them,  in  preaching  and  spreading  the  gos- 
pel of  their  blessed  Master  !  And  their  success  was  com- 
mensurate with  the  Almighty  hand  that  guided  and  upheld 
them. 

In  the  foregoing  quotations,  Jesus  speaks  of  another 
Comforter,  the  Spirit  of  trutli,  to  abide  with  them  for 
ever,  &.c.  And  respecting  himself,  he  says,  "  If  /  go  not 
away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come."  Wherein  it  is  plain, 
that  he  draws  a  distinction  between  himself,  as  an  outward, 
visible  person  who  was  about  to  depart,  and  that  other 
which  was  the  Spirit  of  truth,  that  "  the  Father  "  would 
send  in  his  name  into  their  "  inward  parts." 


94 


"  It  was  his  [^Christ's]  Divine  liglit  alone,  that  could 
administer  light  to  the  soul,  and  not  shadows." 

George  Whitehead  in  the  Christian  Quaker. 

"  The  Light  that  doth  enligliten  every  man  that  cometh 
into  the  world,  whicli  is  Christ  Jesus,  is  tlie  Teacher ;  and 
he  that  believes  in  it  receives  Christ." 

George  Fox,  Great  jMijstenj,  pp.  217,  288. 

"  I  will  put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts,  and  write  it 
in  their  hearts.''^    Jer.  xxxi.  'S'S. 


Article  XXIII.  "  He  never  directed  to  himself,  but  all 
he  wanted  was  to  lead  their  minds  to  tlie  Sjiirit  of  Truth, 
to  tlie  Light  within :  and  when  he  had  done  tliis,  he  had 
done  his  office."  Quaker,  vol.  1,  p.  47. 

I  believe  it  may  be  safely  affirmed,  tliat  he  never  did 
direct  men  to  himself  as  to  a  person  without  them  ;  which 
is  tlie  meaning  of  the  Sermon.  And  in  regard  to  the  last 
clause,  that  the  "office  "  of  Jesus  was  to  lead  the  minds  of 
men  to  the  Spirit  of  Truth  in  them,  this  was  the  whole 
office  and  design  of  the  law,  the  prophets,  and  the  Gospel ; 
it  cannot  be  denied. 

On  this  subject,  William  Penn  says  in  the  "  Christian 
Quaker  ;"  "  And  indeed,  all  the  external  dealings  of  God 
with  men,  liave  been  to  bring  to  Christ  the  seed  within, 
which  is  able  to  bruise  the  serpenfs  head  ;  and  did  so,  in 
some  measure,  through  all  ages." 

"  And  Clirist  is  as  truly  a  healer  of  his  people  in  this 
ministration  of  life  to  them,  by  his  holy  Spirit,  as  ever  he 


95 


was  an  healer  of  persons  outwardly,  in  the  (hiys  of  his 
flesh.  This,  with  the  other  miracles  which  he  wrought, 
was  but  A  SHADOW  of  what  he  would  work  and  perform 
inwardly,  in  the  day  of  his  Spirit  and  holy  power.  And 
shall  he,  or  can  he  (to  those  who  faithfully  wait  upon  liim) 
fall  short  in  the  one,  of  whatAe  shadowed  out  in  the  otlier?" 

Isaac  Pennington,  vol.  1,  p.  695. 

"  And  so  he  taught  them  to  pray,  '  Our  Father,'  &c., 
not  to  look  at  his  person,  and  pray  to  him  as  a  person 
without  them ;  but  bid  them  pray  to  their  Father  which 
seeth  in  secret,  who  would  reward  them  openly.  And  He 
that  seeth  in  secret,  searcheth  the  heart,  and  triedi  the 
reins."  William  Bayly. 

After  quoting  John  xiv.  17,  25,  26  ;  cli.  xv.  26,  and  ch. 
xvi.  12,  13,  Humphry  Smith  says,  "  All  wliich  plainly 
declare,  and  most  evidently  set  forth,  Iiow  Cln-ist  in  his 
ministry,  wlien  he  was  upon  earth,  did  most  chiefly  dii'ect 
unto  the  ministration  of  Uie  Spirit  of  Truth,  which  was 
then  yet  to  come,"  &c.  pp.  181,  182.  "  And  why  do 
others  dispute  and  talk  of  the  body  so  much,  which  they 
know  not."    Ibid,  183.    See  2  Cor.  v.  16. 


Article  XXIV.  "If  we  believe  that  God  is  equal 
and  righteous  in  all  his  ways, — that  he  has  made  of  one 
blood  all  the  families  that  dwell  upon  the  earth,  it  is 
impossible  that  He  should  be  partial :  and  therefore  he 
has  been  as  willing  to  reveal  his  will  to  every  creature, 
as  he  was  to  our  first  parents,  to  Moses,  and  the  pro- 
phets, to  Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles.  He  never  can 
set  ANY  OF  THESE  ahove  us,  because  if  he  did,  he  would  be 
partial."  Philadelphia  Sermon,  p.  292. 


96 


The  matter  which  follows  is  necessary  to  a  right  un- 
derstanding of  the  above  extract,  viz  :  "  His  love  is  the 
same  for  all." — "  He  comes  alike  into  the  hearts  of  all 
the  children  of  men,"  &rc.  The  meaning  intended  is, 
that  his  love  and  light  are  extended  to  all.  His  will  is 
revealed  to  all,  without  exception  j  and  thus  all  in  these 
respects  are  equal. 

The  meaning  given  to  it  by  the  authors  of  the  Decla- 
ration is,  not  that  Elias  Hicks  alone,  says, — but  that 
"  those  who  have  separated  from  us"  [that  is,  including 
the  whole  body  of  the  Society,  except  themselves]  "say 
that  God  never  can  set  him  [Jesus  Christ]  above  us." 

See  their  Sumnury,  p  24. 

In  the  New  York  sermon,  p.  96,  Elias  Hicks  says, 
that  "  the  life  and  power  of  God  in  him,  leavened  him 
into  his  own  holy  nature,  till  he  was  swallowed  up  into  the 
Divinity  of  Ids  heavenly  Father." — "  Having  been  faithful 
to  the  Father  in  all  things,  his  storehouse  was  opened 
to  him ;  because  his  Father  could  trust  him  with  all  his 
treasures." 

"  He  had  the  fulness,  [the  Light,]  as  we  have  our 
several  allotments."  Philadelphia  Sermon,  p.  10. 

"  He  had  a  greater  anointing  than  the  rest  of  his 
brethren."  Quaker,  vol.  1,  p.  42. 

Thus,  it  is  clearly  proved  that  the  construction  given 
by  the  Declaration  is  unfounded. 

Article  XXV.     "  From  what  Jesus  himself  said, 

HE  WAS  NOT  GOD." 

Declaration,  p.  22.    J^'ew  York  Sermons,  p.  96. 


97 


These  few  words  are  taken  out  of  the  middle  of  a 
paragraph :  I  will  therefore  give  the  whole  ;  when  the 
reason  for  its  suppression  will  be  readily  discerned. 

"  Herein  it  was  that  Jesus  became  the  Son  of  God, 
through  the  life  and  power  of  God  in  him,  which  leav- 
ened him  into  his  own  holy  nature,  till  he  was  swallowed 
up  into  the  Divinity  of  his  heavenly  Father.  Having 
been  faithful  to  the  Father  in  all  things,  His  storehouse 
was  opened  to  him  ;  because  his  Father  could  trust  him 
with  all  his  treasures.  He  knew  that  he  would  not  em- 
bezzle, nor  make  a  wrong  use  of  these  treasures  ;  but 
that  he  would  wait  to  know  his  Father's  will,  before  he 
would  dispose  of  the  things  that  were  open  to  his  view. 
Now  here  is  the  full  and  complete  Divinity  of  Jesus 
Christ.  [FroOT  what  Jesus  himself  said^  he  was  not  God  :'\ 
"  and  this  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  know  thee, 
the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  Jmst 
sent.''''  Who  will  venture  to  contradict  Jesus  Christ  in 
his  faithful  testimony  \  Here,  he  shows  the  distinction. 
He  placed  himself  where  his  Father  had  placed  him,  as 
a  sent  offering.  He  did  not  say  that  he  did  anything  of 
himself:  even  the  times  and  the  seasons  were  in  the 
hands  of  the  Father,  and  entirely  at  his  disposal ;  not 
even  Jesus,  nor  the  angels  in  heaven,  were  informed  of 
them."    p.  96. 

I  have  before  shown  that  William  Penn,  George 
Whitehead,  Isaac  Pennington,  Daniel  Phillips,  Edward 
Burrough,  George  Fox,  &c.,  have  all  said  that  Jesus 
was  not  God:  and  I  refer  the  reader  to  the  quotations 
which  I  have  already  made  from  their  writings  on  this 
subject. 


9 


98 


Article  XXVI.  "  He  was  only  an  outward  Saviour, 
that  healed  their  outward  diseases,  and  gave  them 
strength  of  body  to  enjoy  that  outward  good  land.  This 
was  a.  figure  of  the  great  Comforter,  which  he  would 
pray  the  Father  to  send  them  ; — an  inward  one  that 
would  heal  all  the  diseases  of  their  souls,  and  cleanse 
them  from  all  their  inward  pollutions, — that  thing  of 
God, — that  thing  of  eternal  life.  It  u-as  the  soul  that 
wanted  salvation^  but  this,  no  outward  Saviour  could  do, 
no  external  Saviour  could  have  any  hand  in  it,'''' 

Philadelphia  Sermons^  p,  50. 

PARALLEL  PASSAGES. 

"  So  that  the  invisible,  spiritual,  and  divine  life,  prin- 
ciple, or  nature,  was  the  root  and  fountain  of  all  which 
is  sometimes  ascribed  in  Scripture  to  the  body  by  that 
common  figure  or  way  of  speaking  amongst  men, — the 
thing  containing,  which  was  the  body, — for  the  thing 
contained,  which  was  the  eternal  power,  wisdom,  life, 
&rc.  Not  that  we  should  irreverently  rob  the  holy  body 
of  whatsoever  acknoAvledgment  is  justly  due,  nor  yet 
separate  that  Avhich  God  hath  joined.  Though  I  confess 
with  holy  fear,  /  dare  not  attribute  that  to  an  external 
PREPARED  BEING,  which  is  the  natural,  proper,  and  only 
work  of  the  Divine  light  and  life  to  operate  and  effect.''^ 

William  Penn,in  the  Christian  Quaker,  p.  199, 

"  Christ  is  the  substance  of  all  figures,  and  his  flesh 
is  &  figure  ;  for  every  one  passeth  through  the  same  way 
as  he  did,  that  comes  to  know  Christ  in  the  flesh.'''' 

G.  Fox,  SauPs  Errand  to  Damascus,  p.  596. 

"  We  witness  the  same  Christ  which  ever  was,  now 
manifested  in  the  flesh,  and  is  appeared  in  the  likeness 


99 


of  sinful  flesh,  to  condemn  sin  in  the  flesh,  which  is  the 
Word  which  became  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  the  apos- 
tles. This  Christ  we  witness  no  more  after  the  flesh,  but 
after  the  Spirit :  and  before  we  knew  him  after  the  Spirit, 
we  had  no  profit  by  him, — but  were  in  the  state  of  repro- 
bation." James  ParneVs  Writings,  p.  lO^. 

"  I  beseech  you  therefore,  be  not  offended  when  as  we 
say  that  Christ,  according  to  the  history  of  him,  only, 
and  according  to  his  ministration  in  the  fleshy — is  but  a 
form,  in  which  God  doth  appear  to  us ;  and  in  which 
God  doth  give  us  a  map  of  salvation.  Thou  knowest  it 
not  to  be  thy  real  salvation,  except  it  be  revealed  in  thee 
by  the  Spirit.  A  map  serves  until  a  man  knows  the 
country.  Tliere  is  Christ  in  \.\\e  flesh,  and  Christ  in  the 
Spirit.  Christ  in  the  flesh  is  the  witness  ;  the  common 
person,  in  which  our  salvation  is  transacted  as  in  a  fig- 
ure. Christ  in  the  Spirit,  is  the  real  truth  and  principle 
of  righteousness,  and  of  life  :  he  is  the  real  salvation 
within  us.''^  Again,  in  his  preface,  he  saith,  that  "  in 
that  degree  that  the  spiritual  administration  takes  place, 
the  fleshly  administration  gives  place.  In  that  measure 
that  Christ's  second  appearance  draws  on  us,  we  are 
drawn  from  under  his  first  appearance." — ^"  JosAmb  Spriggs^ 
Testimony  to  an  approaching  Glory  ;"  quoted  by  William 
Penn.] 

The  apostle  is  to  the  same  point,  where  he  says, 
"  Wherefore  henceforth  know  we  no  man  after  the  flesh; 
yea,  though  we  have  known  Christ  after  the  flesh  ;  yet 
now  henceforth  know  we  him  no  more."    2  Cor.  v.  16. 

"Many  seem  to  think,  that  if  Christ  in  name  be  the 
object  of  their  profession,  they  are  certainly  in  the  true 


100 


faith  :  whereas,  too  few  have  any  clear  sense  either  what 
or  where  Ciirist  is  ;  and  many  are  ready  to  quarrel  with 
every  thmg  that  tends  to  open  the  mystery.  I  am  as 
sure  there  is  no  salvation  out  of  Christ,  as  I  am  of  any 
thing  in  the  Avorld.  I  am  also  as  sure  that  the  common 
ideas  of  salvation,  are  very  greatly  beside  the  true  doc- 
trine of  salvation  by  Christ.  And  moreover  I  am  as  easy 
to  risk  my  everlasting  condition  upon  the  true  faith  and 
fellowship  of  Christ,  as  inwardly  revealed  from  glory 
to  glory,  to  those  who  keep  a  single  eye  to  his  holy  light 
within  them,  as  I  am  in  believing  that  God  made  the 
HEAVENS  and  THE  EARTH.  For  I  am  indisputably  ascer- 
tained in  the  life  and  fundamental  certainty  of  the  true 
grounds  of  salvation  by  Christ  ;  and  that  in  all  ages,  it 
has  been  a  real  birth  of  God  in  the  soul, — a  substantial 
union  of  the  human  and  Divine  nature  ; — the  son  of  God, 
and  the  son  of  man ; — which  is  the  true  Emanuel-state, 
— God  and  man  in  an  ever  blessed  oneness,  and  harmo- 
nious agreement.  And  I  know  Christ  must  sit  at  the 
right  hand  of  eternal  power  in  my  soul,  till  his  and  my 
soul's  enemies  be  made  his  footstool,  if  ever  I  reign 
with  him  in  fulness  of  glory." 

Job  Scott''s  Journal,  p.  475. 

One  of  the  last  acts  of  Jesus  was  to  eat  the  Passover 
with  his  disciples ; — an  institution  belonging  to  the  oW 
covenant,  which  continued  until  the  crucifixion,  Avhen 
"the  veil  of  the  temple  was  rent  in  twain  from  the  top 
to  the  bottom," — as  an  expressive  sign  or  token,  that 
the  legal  dispensation,  with  its  worship,  was  ended,  and 
that  Moses  should  henceforth  cease  to  be  a  veil  upon 
the  heart,  being  taken  away  in  Christ's  spiritual  appear- 
ance. 2  Cor.  iii.  14.  The  feast  called  Pentecost  was  in- 
stituted to  commemorate  the  event  of  giving  the  law 


101 


from  mount  Sinai.  And  on  this  day  also,  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  it  was,  that  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  upon 
the  apostles.  And  as  the  one  was  attended  with  thun- 
ders and  lightnings,  so  the  other  was  equally  signal- 
ized by  "  a  sound  from  heaven  as  of  a  mighty  rushing 
wind,"  which  "  filled  all  the  house  where  they  were 
sitting.  And  there  appeared  unto  them  cloven  tongues 
like  as  of  fire,  and  it  sat  upon  each  of  them ;  and  they 
were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  began  to  speak 
with  other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance." 
— "  And  the  same  day  there  were  added  unto  them, 
three  thousand  souls."    Acts,  ch.  1. 

Thus,  the  history  of  these  great  events,  as  recorded 
in  the  Bible,  marks  in  the  clearest  manner,  the  periods 
of  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  outward;  and  the  intro- 
duction of  the  inward  and  more  spiritual  dispensation  ; 
— as  well  as  the  great  offices  performed  by  the  Messiah 
in  relation  to  both.  He  fulfilled  the  law,  and  thus  jus- 
tified his  heavenly  Father,  in  the  giving  of  it  ;  which  he 
could  not  have  done  otherwise,  as  it  wouhi  appear  to 
us,  than  by  acting,  in  every  respect,  in  the  same  capacity, 
and  with  the  same  ability,  as  were  conferred  on  his  brethren 
according  to  the  flesh:  thus  proving  that  God  had  not 
given  them  a  law,  and  withheld  from  them  the  means 
to  fulfil  it.  And,  increasing  in  wiisdom  and  power, 
graciously  bestowed  by  his  heavenly  Father,  (for  so  the 
record  of  him  states,  and  himse}f  expressly  declares,) 
he  repealed  that  law,  and  thus  "  redeemed  them  that 
were  under  it :"  for  where  there  is  no  law,  there  is  no 
transgression.  In  the  progress  of  its  repeal,  he  opened 
simultaneously  the  doctrines  and  precepts  of  the  Gos- 
pel. "  Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said,  '  An  eye 
for  an  eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth,  but  I  say  unto  vou 

9* 


102 


that  ye  resist  not  evil:  but  whosoever  shall  smite  thee 
on  thy  right  cheek,  turn  to  him  the  other  also." 

After  the  same  manner,  the  several  parts  of  the  out- 
ward, or  shadowy  dispensation,  with  its  legal  ordinances, 
were  abolished  ;  and  those  of  the  gospel  instituted 
and  enforced  by  precepts  the  most  sublime,  and  by  the 
purest  and  most  holy  example  ever  offered  for  our  imi- 
tation since  the  fall  of  man  ! 

As  the  state  of  the  Jews  was  outward,  they  did  not,  or 
could  not  generally  so  feel  or  appreciate  his  sublime 
precepts  and  doctrines,  as  to  change  their  hearts  :  but 
they  were  as  "  bread  cast  upon  the  waters,"  to  return 
and  be  remembered,  when  the  Holy  Spirit  should  be 
given,  to  open  their  understandings  and  effectually 
cleanse  them  of  their  corruptions.  Thus,  as  it  respects 
the  effects  produced,  the  ministrations  of  Jesus  were 
outward.  His  miracles  healed  their  bodies.  His  preach- 
ing, mediation,  and  intercession,  partook  of  the  outward 
nature  of  the  dispensation  under  which  he  lived  and 
taught.  While  they  opened  the  way  for  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Spirit,  they  served  as  types  and  figures  of 
its  effectual,  heart-searching  operations,  which  were  to 
be  experienced  from  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
within, — the  Divine  Word, — the  arm  and  power  of  God: 
— and  which  not  a  few  did  then,  by  the  Divine  light  in 
themselves,  in  a  degree  experience.  Hence,  Christ  in 
the  flesh,  or  in  that  prepared  body,  may  be  truly  said  to 
have  been,  comparatively,  an  outward  Saviour. 

On  this  subject,  Isaac  Pennington  remarks :  "  This 
[healing  diseases]  with  the  other  miracles  which  he 
wrought,  was  but  a  shadow,  of  what  he  would  work  and 
perform  inwardly,  in  the  day  of  his  spirit  and  holy 
power,"  Vol.  1,  p.  695. 


103 


There  is,  perhaps,  no  part  of  the  account  transmitted 
to  us,  which  more  clearly  confirms  this  view  of  the  sub- 
ject, than  the  remarkable  evidence  furnished  by  the 
conduct  of  his  immediate  followers  ; — ^who,  with  the 
fullest  opportunity  of  profiting  by  his  ministrations,  and 
pure  and  holy  example,  when  their  love  and  faith  were 
brought  to  tnaX,  forsook  Iiim,  and  fled '.  (see  under  Art. 
XXII.)  And  when  he  appeared  unto  them  after  he  had 
risen,  their  question  to  him  plainly  shows  that  their 
hopes  and  expectations  were  still  fixed  upon  an  outward 
kingdom. 

"  Now  when  he  ascends,"  says  Isaac  Pennington, 
"  he  receives  the  Spirit  from  the  Father,  as  the  Father 
had  promised  him;  and  having  so  received  him,  he  sends 
him  to  them  for  their  Comforter.  And  may  not  this 
justly  be  termed,  "  another  Comforter^''  than  Christ  was  in 
his  bodily  presence^.  And  yet  is  it  not  also  the  same  Spirit 
of  life  that  had  been  with  them  in  that  body  1  So  that 
it  is  another  in  the  watj  of  administration^  but  the  same  in 
substance, — even  the  Word  which  was  from  the  begin- 
ning,— the  Spirit  which  was  from  everlasting; — and  to 
everlasting  there  is  no  other.'''' — Isaac  Pennington,  vol.  2, 
p.  18,  Second  ed.,  Quarto,  London,  1761. 

This  subject  of  the  two  administrations,  outward  and 
inward,  receives  further  illustration  from  the  passage  in 
John  xiv.  10,  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he  that 
beiieveth  on  me,  the  works  that  I  do,  shall  he  do  also ; 
and  GREATER  works  than  these  shall  he  do  :  because  I  go 
unto  my  Father."  Were  not  these  among  the  "greater 
works,"  namely,  that  they  (the  apostles)  were  after- 
wards made  instrumental  in  effectually  healing  the  souls 
of  men,  and  turning  them  from  darkness  to  light,  and 
from  the  power  of  satan  unto  God  ! 


104 


The  Declaration  carps  at  the  word  "  thing,"  used  in 
the  Sermon,  as  if  it  were  intended  to  designate  Jesus 
Christ.  Does  not  this  afford  a  strong  evidence  (along 
with  many  others)  of  the  spirit  in  which  that  production 
has  been  framed  1 — "  Laying  wait  for  him,  and  seeking 
to  catch  something  out  of  his  mouth  that  they  might 
accuse  him."  Luke  xi.  54.  The  angel  made  use  of 
this  word,  when  he  announced  the  glorious  advent  ;  and 
early  Friends,  in  their  writings,  copied  after  his  exam- 
ple ;  as  may  be  seen  in  the  quotations  which  I  have 
made  from  them. 

"Surely  flesh  and  blood  is  not  the  Saviour,  but  the 
holy  thing  spoken  of,  which  was  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 
Light  and  life  of  Christy  ly  G.  Whitehead,  p.  46. 


Article  XXVII.  "  The  apostle  had  allusion  to  that 
perfect  righteousness,  which  is  the  immediate  Saviour 
in  the  soul,  Christ  within,  the  hope  of  glory :  but  it  was 
not  that  outward  Jesus  Christ  that  was  the  hope  of  gloryy 

Quaker,  vol.  1,  p.  164. 


Article  XXXV.  "  The  Christ,  then,  which  it  con- 
cerns us  to  have  an  interest  in,  is  not  that  outward  manifes- 
tation, which  was  limited  in  its  operations  to  a  small  pro- 
vince, a  single  nation  ;  and  to  this  day  known  only  by 
history  to  a  few,"  &c. 

Berean,  vol.  2,  p.  21.    Decl.  p.  24. 


Article  XXXVI.  "  But  the  manifestation  to  us  is  in- 
ward, and  they  [primitive  Friends]  believe  that  it  is 


105 


the  Christ  within^  and  not  the  Christ  without,  on  which  is 
founded  their  hope  of  glory." 

Berean,  vol.  2,  p.  84.    Bed.  p.  24. 


These  three  extracts  being  of  similar  import,  are 
taken  together. 

The  Declaration  appears  to  entertain  an  objection  to 
the  doctrine  of  the  Christ  within :  yet  all  who  have  a 
knowledge  of  the  principles  of  Friends,  or  have  looked 
into  their  writings,  must  be  fully  aware  that  this  doc- 
trine constitutes  their  great  fundamental  in  religion  ;  and 
that  which  has  characterized  them  from  their  origin, — 
the  platform  on  which  their  whole  system  rests. 

Job  Scott,  in  the  foregoing  quotation,  has,  in  a  few 
words,  expressed  the  sum  and  substance  of  their  doc- 
trine of  Salvation  by  Christ.  "  /  am  as  easy,''''  says  he, 
"  to  risk  my  everlasting  condition  upon  the  true  faith  and 
fellowship  of  Christ,  as  inwardly  rev'eai.ed  from  glory  to 
glory  to  those  who  keep  a  single  eye  to  his  holy  Light 
WITHIN  THEM,  as  I  am  in  believing  that  God  made  the  heavens 
and  the  earth.'''' 

With  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  weight  of 
Job  Scott's  religious  character  and  experience,  his  sim- 
ple testimony,  I  believe,  will  outbalance  that  of  the 
"  Declaration  "  on  this  subject.  But,  for  the  informa- 
tion of  others,  I  will  offer  the  following  additional  evi- 
dence. 

"  And  so  he  taught  them  to  pray,  '  Our  Father,  &c.,' 
not  to  look  at  his  person,  and  pray  to  him  as  a  person 
without  them  ;  but  bid  them  pray  to  their  Father  who 


106 


seeth  in  secret."  "  And  he  bid  them  pray,  '  Thy  king- 
dom come  :'  and  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  within  y  and 
the  heart  and  reins,  and  the  Searcher  of  them,  is  within.''^ 

William  Bayly,  p.  187. 

"  Alas  I  it  is  in  the  main  we  differ  from  you  !"  [profes 
sors]  We  holding  our  religion  as  we  receive  it  from 
God  in  the  light  and  life  of  his  Spirit  y  you,  as  you  ap- 
prehend it  from  the  letter.  Christ  is  our  Rock  and 
foundation,  as  inwardly  revealed  j  yours,  but  as  out- 
wardly conceived  of." 

Isaac  Pennington,  vol.  2,  p.  163. 

"  Christ  in  us,  has  been  in  every  age  and  nation,  the 
only  true  and  solid  groimd,  and  hope  of  glory." 

Job  Scott''s  Works,  vol.  1,  p.  478. 

"  There  are  but  two  seeds  in  the  whole  creation,  be- 
tween which  enmity  is  put,  and  are  absolutely  contrary 
in  nature,  fruits,  and  effects ;  that  is,  the  seed  of  the 
serpent,  and  the  seed  of  the  woman,  which  is  Christ  in 
HIS  PEOPLE,  the  same  to-day,  yesterday,  and  forever.''^ 

William  Bayly,  p.  130. 
"For  the  apostle  preached  Christ,  the  Word,  nigh  in  the 
HEART,  and  in  the  mouth  ;  and  the  ingrafted  Word  is 
able  to  save  the  soul :  so  he  did  not  preach  a  visible 
Christ,  with  flesh  and  bones,  as  you  [Baptists]  do, 
(which  W.  B.  said  was  not  Christ)  but  the  Word." 

Williain  Bayly,  p.  327. 

"  Who  is  the  redeemer  \  Ans.  The  Son  of  God, — the 
Child  of  God's  begetting,  the  Divine  Image, — who  natu- 
rally believes  and  fulfils  the  will  of  the  Father,  in  every 
VESSEL  which  it  hath  prepared." 

Isaac  Pennington,  vol.  2,  p.  427. 


107 


"  There  is  no  way  of  avoiding  the  eternal,  insupporta- 
ble wrath  of  God,  but  by  travelling  out  of  that  nature, 
spirit,  and  course,  which  it  is  to.  Him  that  sowed  to  sin 
and  corruption  under  the  law,  the  sacrifices  would  not 
save  then  ;  nor  him  that  soweth  to  sin  and  corruption 
under  the  gospel,  th&  sacrifice  of  Christ  icillnot  save?iow. 
But  he  that  is  saved  by  Christ,  must  be  sanctified  and 
redeemed  from  sin  and  corruption  by  him,  which  Christ 
worketh  by  his  principle  of  life  sown  in  the  heart." 

Ibid,  vol.  2,  p.  389. 

"  We  have  had  very  narroAV  apprehensions  of  Christ, 
and  the  manifestations  of  the  glory  of  Christ ;  limiting 
it  only  to  the  one  man,  when  the  truth  is,  that  Christ 
and  all  the  saints  make  up  but  one  Christ.  (1  Cor.  xii. 
12.)  And  God  as  truly  manifesteth  himself  in  the 
FLESH  of  all  his,  as  he  did  in  Christ  ;  although  the  mea- 
sure of  that  manifestation  is  different.^'' 

Thomas  Collier'' s  Diacorery  of  the  jYew  Creation,  p.  390. 

"  Thou  (E.  H.)  makes  a  great  outcry  against  S. 
Crisp,  about  knowing  the  beginning  and  date  of  thy 
Christ,  whom  to  confute,  thou  pleads  his  deity ;  having 
before  told  us  of  expecting  to  be  saved  by  Jesiis,  as  being 
in  a  person  without  ;  what  Scripture  hast  thou  for  this 
creed  1"  Christian  Quaker,  p.  302. 

"  And  indeed,  all  the  external  dealings  of  God  with 
men,  have  been  to  bring  to  Christ,  the  seed  within, 
which  is  able  to  bruise  the  serpent's  head." 

"  If  I  or  any  one  else,  have  felt  the  saving  arm  of  the 
Lord  revealed  in  us  ;  if  we  have  felt  a  measure  of  the 
same  life,  power,  and  anointing,  revealed  in  our  vessels, 
as  was  revealed  in  his  vessel,  [Jesus,]  is  it  not  of  the 


108 


same  nature  \  Is  it  not  the  same  thing  1  Is  not  Christ 
the  seed  1  And  is  not  this  seed  sown  in  the  heart  1 
Now,  if  this  seed  spring,  and  grow  up  in  me  into  a 
spiritual  shape  or  form,  (though  it  be  but  of  a  babe)  is 
not  Christ  then  formed  in  bie  1  If  I  be  ingrafted  into, 
and  grow  up  in  it,  am  I  not  ingrafted  into  Christ,  (the 
true  Olive  tree,  the  true  Vine,)  and  do  I  not  grow  up  in 
him'?  And  is  not  this  the  same  Christ  that  took  upon 
him  the  body  of  flesh,  and  offered  it  without  the  gates 
of  Jerusalem  1  Is  there  any  more  than  one  ;  or  is  there 
any  other  than  he  Is  Christ  divided  1  Is  there  one 
Christ  within,  and  another  without  ?" 

Isaac  Pennington,  vol.  2,  p.  17. 

Why  need  I  quote  George  Fox  on  this  subject  1  He 
was  the  first  to  revive,  in  a  degenerate  age,  the  apostolic 
doctrine  of  the  Christ  within,  as  the  hope  of  salvation 
and  of  glory.  The  Light  within, — the  Light  which  en- 
lighteneth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world, — is 
declared  and  set  forth  on  almost  every  page  of  his  volu- 
minous v^'fitings.  It  was  this  Christ  within,  he  informs 
us,  that  could  and  did  speak  to  his  sorrowful  condition, 
when  darkness  encompassed  his  soul ;  when  books, 
priests  and  high  professors,  and  all  outward  helps, 
availed  him  nothing.  It  was  this  Christ  within,  and 
this  alone,  which  taught  all  that  he  ever  knew  of  the 
"things  of  God,"  and  of  salvation  ;  which  guided,  pro- 
tected, assured,  and  comforted  him  in  all  his  trials, 
labours,  and  cruel  persecutions.  It  was  this  which 
enabled  him  to  gather  a  numerous  people  into  the  true 
sheep-fold  of  rest ;  and  who,  by  the  fruits  which  they 
brought  forth,  were  as  a  city  set  on  a  hill,  whose  light 
could  not  be  hid.  In  fine,  it  was  this,  that  in  the  final 
hour  gave  him  the  victory  over  the  king  of  terrors  ;  and 


109 


which  (in  answer  to  his  sorrowing  friends,  asking  him 
how  he  felt)  enabled  him  to  say,  in  his  own  laconic  and 
emphatic  style,  "  JVever  heed  j  all  is  well :  the  Seed  of  God 
reigns  over  all,  and  over  death  itself'' 

The  following  are  a  few  of  his  many  testimonies  to 
the  Christ  within : 

"For  Christ  is  manifest  i'ti  the  flesh,  to  condemn  sin  in 
the  flesh ;  all  that  witness  Christ  in  them,  male  and 
female,  I  say,  Christ  manifest  in  their  flesh,  he  doth  con- 
demn the  sin  that  is  in  their  flesh  ;  yea,  and  makes  an 
end  of  sin,  and  finishes  the  transgression,  and  brings  in 
everlasting  righteousness  into  them," 

George  Fox^s  Works,  vol.  7,  p.  320. 

But  something  more  than  this  is  necessai-y  to  believe  in, 
some  may  say,  and  which  the  "separatist"  George 
Keith  contended  for ;  but  the  Society  rejected  him  and 
his  creed.    What  says  George  Fox  on  this  point  ] 

"  The  Light  in  every  man,  which  Christ  hath  enlight- 
ened him  withal,  loving  it  and  walking  in  it,  is  suffi- 
cient to  discover  Christ  and  salvation,'''' 

Great  Mystery,  p,  142. 

"  The  Lights  Christ,  the  Covenant  ,of  God,  is  the 
leader  of  the  people  out  of  the  fall,  out  of  all  deceit  unto 
God  :  and  it  js  sufficient.  It  is  the  end  of  the  prophets' 
and  the  apostles'  teaching  ;  the  Fountain  of  life,  in  which 
every  one  sees  life."  Ibid,  p.  385. 

"  And  I  say  none  come  to  witness  salvation,  and  to  be 
saved,  but  who  witness  Christ  within,  their  sanctifica- 
tion,  and  justification,  and  redemption  ;  and  the  others 
are  reprobates.'"  Ibid,  p.  293, 

10 


110 


"  Christ,  by  whom  the  world  was  made,  was  before  it 
was  made,  who  is  the  brightness  of  liis  glory,  the  express* 
image  of  the  substance  of  God :  In  him  was  life,  and  the 
life  was  the  light  of  men,  which  doth  enlighten  every 
man  that  cometh  into  the  world.  Through  the  light  that 
cnlighteneth  them^  they  have  life,  light,  justification,  sanc- 
tification,  redemption  ;  they  have  salvation,  they  have 
truth,  they  have  peace  with  God  ;  for  the  Liglit  is  the 
Covenant.-  "  I  will  give  him  for  a  covenant  of  light  to 
the  Gentiles,  saith  God,  and  a  leader  to  the  people." 
So  that  Light  should  be  the  leader  of  every  man  that 
comes  into  the  world, — that  is  the  leader  ;  which  Light 
was  with  the  Father,  glorified  before  the  world  began : 
which  Light  lets  men  see  all  their  evil  ways  and  sins, 
and  transgressions  they  have  done  in  the  world."  "  So 
all  being  in  the  Light,  they  are  in  the  way,  they  have 
found  the  way,  Christ  Jesus,  the  chief  Shepherd, — the 
Bishop  of  the  soul,  (which  soul  is  immortal,)  the  same 
yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever."  "  Who  is  the  Light 
of  the  world,  that  enlightens  every  man  that  comes  into 
the  world, — that  all  through  this  light  might  believe 
in  the  Son  of  God, — Christ  Jesus,  the  one  offering,  who  is 
the  way  to  God,  and  the  covenant  between  God  and 
man."  "  And  no  one  on  earth  has  life,  peace,  or  justifi- 
cation, but  such  as  come  into  the  light  of  Christ,  to  justifi- 
cation, the  life  of  all  that  come  to  God."  "Therefore, 
every  one  of  you  that  would  have  salvation,  receive  the 
Light  ;  so  you  receive  Christ,  your  salvation." 

George  Fox  to  the  Great  Turk.  Boctrinals,  pp.  174,  175. 

"  And  there  never  was,  nor  ever  will  be,  any  other 
true  and  substantial  hope  of  glory,  but  Christ  in  man, 
his  life,  his  strength,  his  guide,  and  sure  defence." 

Job  Scott'' s  Salvation  by  Christ. 


Ill 


"  God  hath  sent  his  Son,  Christ  Jesus,  into  the  world 
to  enlighten  you,  that  by  his  light  you  may  see  him  ;  that 
byhisgrace,  you  might  receive  him  j  and  by  his  grace 
you  might  be  saved." 

Stephen  Crisp's  sermon  at  Devonshire  House^  1688. 

Thus,  as  Christ  the  Saviour,  according  to  George 
Fox,  is  to  be  found  within^  and  "  not  without,"  so  he 
exercises  his  holy  offices  within,  also.  Thus  he  exhorts, 
"  And  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  keep  your  meetings,  who 
are  gathered  into  it,  [the  seed,  Christ,]  in  whose  name 
ye  have  salvation  ;  he  being  in  the  midst  of  you,  whose 
name  is  above  every  name  under  the  whole  heaven.  So 
ye  have  a  prophet,  bishop,  shepherd,  priest,  and  coun- 
sellor, (above  all  the  counsellors,  priests,  bishops,  pro- 
phets, and  shepherds  under  the  whole  heaven,)  to  ex- 
ercise his  offices  among  you,  in  your  meetings  gathered 
in  his  name."  [power.]  "  So  Christ,  the  heavenly  King 
and  Lord,  rules,  orders,  and  governs  in  the  hearts  and 
SOULS  of  his  children,  who  is  the  Bishop  and  chief 
Shepherd  of  the  soul  to  oversee  and  feed  his  sheep." 

Journal,  vol.  2,  p.  227.    Doctrinals,  p.  1025. 


As  the  next  extract  is  mutilated,  I  will  quote  the 
whole  paragraph,  distinguishing  the  extracts,  as  before. 

Article  XXVIII.  "  So  here,  my  friends,  we  see  the 
one  thing  needful ;  and  there  is  nothing  else  to  be  come  at, 
that  can  unite  the  children  of  men,  but  this  light  and  life 
in  the  soul :  [it  is  truly  God  in  man  :  for  as  He  fills  all 
things,  he  cannot  be  located  in  any  thing  which  is  capable 
of  being  located  ;  because,  to  suppose  that  all  the  fulness 


112 


of  God  was  in  Christ,  is  to  take  him  out  of  every  other 
part  of  the  world  :]  but  as  certainly  as  He  was  in  Jesus 
Christ,  so  certainly  He  is  in  all  the  sons  of  God  ;  and, '  as 
many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  are  the  sons  of  God.' 
Here  now,  we  see  that  God  is  every  where,  that  He  fills 
the  immensity  of  space." 

DecL,  p.  23.    Quaker,  vol.  1,  p.  166. 

The  question  respecting  the  fulness,  has  been  before 
examined  ;  to  which  I  refer  the  reader.  It  has  been  shown, 
that  the  visible  person,,  or  the  man  Jesus,  was  not,  accord- 
ing to  William  Penn,  Isaac  Pennington,  Daniel  Phillips, 
George  Whitehead,  and  others,  "  j  roperly  the  Son  of 
God :"  and  hence,  that  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  did 
not  dwell  in  him  ;  for  the  being  possessing  that,  can  be 
nothing  less  than  God  himself.  And  George  Fox  pro- 
nounces it  blasphemy  to  say  that  God  was  crucified ;  for 
that  it  was  God  that  raised  up  Jesus,  on  the  third  day. 
The  fulness  spoken  of,  therefore  attaches  only  to  Christ 
in  spirit,  the  Word  that  was  in  the  beginning  witli  God, 
and  was  God, 

The  sentence  following  the  extract,  and  which  the  De- 
claration has  suppressed,  is  explanatory  of  what  precedes 
it,  viz. :  "  But  as  certainly  as  He  [God]  was  in  Jesus 
Christ,  so  certainly  is  He  in  aU  die  sons  of  God,"  &c., 
which  is  equivalent  to  what  Isaac  Pennington  (before 
quoted,)  says,  "  He  partook  of  the  spirit,  or  '  eternal  life,' 
as  the  rest  of  the  children  did.' 


The  Declaration  proceeds  as  follows  : 
Article  XXIX.    "  In  his  attack  on  '  the  doctrines  of 
Friends,'  the  Berean  says,  *  The  doctrine,  therefore,  con- 


113 


tained  in  the  chapter  under  review,  ascribing  a  proper 
divinity  to  Jesus  Christ,  making  him  the  foundation  of 
every  Christian  doctrine,  asserting  that  the  divine  nature 
essentially  belonged  to  him,  and  constituting  him  a  distinct 
object  of  faith  and  worship,  is  not  only  anti-scriptural,  but 
opposed  to  the  simplest  principles  of  reason ;  and  is,  in 

short,  AMONG  THE  DARKEST  DOCTRINES  THAT  HAS  EVER 
BEEN  INTRODUCED  INTO  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH." 

Decl.,  p.  24.    Berean,  vol.  2,  p.  259. 

"  Christ  is  the  Saviour,"  says  Isaac  Pennington,  "  as  he 
is  one  with  God;  and  so  he  is  not  a  foundation,  or  the 
corner-stone,  distinct  from  God.  It  is  the  Spirit,  the  life, 
which  was  revealed  in  that  man  (by  which  he  did  his 
Father's  will,)  which  was,  and  is  the  foundation." 

The  attack  here  spoken  of,  is  not  on  the  doctrines  of 
Friends,  as  the  reader,  fi"om  the  manner  of  stating  it,  might 
be  led  to  believe,  but  on  a  hook  published  hy  Elis ha  Bates, 
bearing  that  title,  being  a  review  of  the  doctrines  set  forth 
in  that  book,  by  the  Berean  ;  from  which  the  extract  is 
taken,  and  which  the  Declaration  calls  an  "  attack  on  the 
doctrines  of  Friends." 

The  extract  given,  is  a  conclusion  drawn  by  the  Berean 
from  a  previous  course  of  argumentation,  or  analysis  of  the 
author's  views,  relating  to  the  divinity  of  Christ.  Hence 
tlie  reader  cannot  properly  judge  of  the  merits  of  the  con- 
clusion, without  a  knowledge  of  the  premises.  These 
would  occupy  too  much  space  to  introduce  here;  and 
indeed  will  be  unnecessary,  as  I  shall  have  occasion  to  " 
speak  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  (which  the  work,  as  I 
believe,  plainly  asserts)  in  another  place. 

The  author,  E.  Bates,  who  was  an  active  opponent  to 
Friends  in  Ohio,  has  since  joined  the  Methodist  society; 
10* 


114 


leaving-  the  book  behind  him,  as  an  evidence  of  the  insta- 
bility of  his  religious  principles,  and  a  strong  presumption 
that  he  had  not  been  well-founded  in  the  true  '  doctrines  of 
Friends  :'  which  is  not  a  little  strengthened  by  the  fact  of 
his  having  been  baptized  with  water,  which  in  his  book  he 
calls  a  "  metaphor"  and  adopted  the  use  of  the  supper, 
which  he  there  treats  as  "  an  empty  shadow." 


Article  XXX.  "  Oh  !  dearly  beloved  friends,  young 
and  old,  may  you  gather  deeper  and  deeper  to  that  which 
is  within  the  vail,  where  we  may  have  access  to  our  God 
WITHOUT  ANY  MEDIATOR."         Quaker,  vol.  2,  p.  277. 

In  the  New  York  sermons,  p.  99,  Elias  Hicks  says. 
If  they  [our  first  parents3  had  never  revolted,  there  never 
would  have  been  any  other  mediator  than  the  law  in  their 
own  hearts."  And  in  page  100,  he  says,  "  Christ  has  led 
the  way  for  us,"  &c.  Hence  it  is  evident,  that  he  does  not 
deny  the  necessity  of  a  mediator,  until  that  state  is  attained 
which  the  apostle  calls  "  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of 
Christ,"  which  is  "  within  the  vail ;"  and  which  he  again 
speaks  of  where  he  says,  "  And  when  all  things  shall  be 
subdued  unto  him,  then  shall  the  Son  also,  himself,  be  sub- 
ject unto  Him  that  put  all  things  under  him,  that  God  may 
he  all  in  all:'    1  Cor.  xv,  28. 

"But  tliere  is  no  stopping  by  the  way,"  says  Job  Scott, 
"  or  sitting  down  at  ease  ;  for  as  certainly  as  we  become 
wholly  joined  to  the  Lord  in  the  one  Spirit,  we  know 
Christ  to  reign  in  us,  till  he  puts  down  all  rule  and 
authority  ;  until  all  his  and  our  enemies  are  put  under  his 
feet  in  us,  until  death  is  completely  swallowed  up  in  victo- 


115 


ry,  and  God  becomes  all  in  all.  Then  it  is  that  the  Son 
renders  up  the  kingdom  to  tlie  Father,  and  God  over  all 
sways  the  unresisted  sceptre  in  his  kingdom." 

S.ulvation  bif  Christ,  p.  24. 

"  Destroy  the  vail,  and  destroy  death  :  the  taking  away 
the  vail  is  the  taking  away  of"  death.  Death  upon  a  true 
account,  is  nothing  but  a  vail  upon  God,  who  is  our  life. 
Even  Clirist's  flesli  was  a  vail.  Ordinances  are  vails  :  if 
God  be  our  life,  the  less  we  are  in  these  things,  the  more 
we  are  in  life." — C.  Goad's  last  Testimony.,  quoted  by 
William  Penn,  vol.  2,  folio,  p.  431. 


Article  XXXI.  "  Edward  Hicks,"  (says  the  Declara- 
tion) "  at  the  Green  Street  meeting,  says,  '  I  ask  then  the 
question,  how  did  he  [^Jesus  Christ]  leave  the  bosom  of 
his  Father  ?  Can  we  form  no  other  idea  than  that  of  a 
corporeal  being,  leaving  a  located  place  somewhere  above 
the  clouds,  and  coming  down  to  this  earth  ?  Is  this  the 
coming  into  the  world,  that  is  meant  ?  I  want  us  to  go 
deeper,  to  come  to  the  spirituality  of  these  things,  and  to 
recognize  a  spiritual  Saviour,  rather  than  an  outward  and 
corporeal  one  ;  because  it  is  only  a  spiritual  one  that  can 
save  us  from  sin.  That  animal  body  that  appeared  at 
Jerusalem,  had  its  use  and  day;  but  the  Spirit  that  was 
clothed  upon  by  the  fulness  of  Divine  power,  this  was  the 
Saviour;  this  is  the  Saviour  to  whom  I  look  for  salvation, 
and  not  by  any  means  to  any  thing  outward  or  corporeal.'  " 

Quaker,  vol.  2,  p.  151. 

The  sci'ibes  and  pharisees  showed  a  strong  aversion  to 
the  "  spirituality"  of  the  "things"  which  the  blessed  Jesus 


116 


taught.  It  was  one  of  the  great  purposes  of  his  embassy 
to  bring  them  from  an  outward  and  carnal,  into  a  more 
spiritual  state.  He  told  them  that  they  must  be  born  again, 
before  they  could  see  the  kingdom.  "  And  when  he  was 
demanded  of  the  pharisees  when  the  kingdom  of  God  should 
come,  he  answered  them  and  said,  The  kingdom  of  God 
Cometh  not  with  observation,  neither  shall  they  say,  lo  here  ! 
or  lo  there  !  for,  behold  the  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you." 
But  they  did  not  understand  him.  They  expected  salva- 
tion, as  the  "  Declaration  "  appears  to  do,  by  a  visible  per- 
son,— an  "animal  body:"  for,  on  this  expression,  used  by 
Edward  Hicks,  it  says,  "  This  declaration  corresponds 
with  others  which  we  have  quoted,  and  is  a  virtual  denial 
ihat  Jesus  Christ,  who  appeared  at  Jerusalem,  is  the  Saviour 
of  men.  The  term  animal  body,  used  to  designate  our 
Lord,  is  irreverent,  and  unbecoming  a  creature  dependent 
upon  him  for  salvation." 

As  to  the  charge  of  being  "  irreverent,"  Sic,  William 
Bayly  is,  it  appears,  quite  as  much  so.  He  queries, 
"  whether  tlie  visible  person  of  flesh  and  bones,  be  the 
ingrafted  Word  ?  Or  whether  that  person  hath  appeared 
to  all  men  j  seeing  that  which  bringeth  salvation  hath  ;  I 
leave  it  to  the  witness  of  God  in  you  all  to  consider  and 
judge.  For  if  you  say  the  visible  man  with  visible  flesh 
and  bones,  is  the  alone  Saviour,  as  you  have  said,  then 
whether  this  visible  7nan  be  in  the  hearts  of  people  ?  for 
the  apostle  preached  Clirist  the  Word  nigh  «i  the 
heart,  and  in  the  mouth  ; — and  the  ingrafted  Word  is  able 
to  save  the  soul.  So  he  did  not  preach  a  visible  Christ 
vrith  flesh  and  bones,  as  you  do,  (which  W.  B.  said  was 
not  Christ,)  but  the  Word."— William  Bayhfs  Works,^^. 
326,  327.  Philada.  edition,  1830. 


117 


George  Fox  says,  "  So  if  this  vile  body  be  changed, 
and  fashio.ned  like  unto  his  glorious  body,  it  is  not  the 
same  :  and  consequently,  do  not  ye  undervalue  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  and  his  body, — ye  that  are  giving  such  by- 
names to  his  body,  as  human  and  humanity  1  Yea, 
some  have  been  so  bold  as  to  say,  that  he  is  in  heaven, 
with  a  natural  and  carnal  body ;  but  these  have  been 
some  of  the  grossest  sort  of  professors." 

Doctrinals,  p.  467. 

So,  according  to  George  Fox,  it  is  the  authors  of  the 
Declaration,  "  who  designate  our  Lord  "  as  having  an 
animal  body,  who  are  among  "  the  grossest  sort  of  pro- 
fessors," "unbecoming,"  and  "irreverent,"  and  who 
"  degrade  the  Lord  of  life  and  glory." 

See  Declaration,  p.  32. 

Again  George  Fox  says,  "  And  is  not  human,  from 
the  ground  1  But  doth  not  Christ  say  he  is  from  above  1 
The  second  man  is  the  Lord  from  heaven,  and  his  body 
is  a  glorious  body,  and  he  is  the  heavenly,  spiritual  manP 
— George  Fox''s  Works,  edition  of  1831,  vol.  5,  p.  154* 
Doctrinals,  pp.  467,  468. 

So,  in  like  manner,  George  Whitehead ;  "  But  if 
your  Christ  doth  consist  of  '  a  human  or  earthly  body, 
flesh  and  bone,' — our  Christ,  who  consisteth  of  quicken- 
ing spirit,  and  heavenly  body,  (of  Divine  life  and  light,  a 
spiritual  and  glorious  body,)  is  above  you  and  yours.  So 
we  must  leave  you  Anabaptists,  with  your  earthly 
Christ,  consisting  of  a  human  body  of  Jlesh  and  bone, 
together  with  your  empty  and  lifeless  shadows,  and  your 
darkness  and  enmity,  wherewith  you  that  are  stirring  up 
smoke  and  darkness,  with  prejudice  against  the  Truth,  the 
true  Light,  and  against  us  for  bearing  witness  thereto." 

Christian  Quaker,  p.  369. 


118 


This  reproof,  the  candid  reader  will  be  apt  to  think 
as  applicable  to  the  "  Declaration,"  as  to  the  opponents 
of  early  Friends. 

On  this  subject,  Isaac  Pennington  says,  "Now  that 
professors  generally  have  not  received  their  knowledge 
of  Christ  from  the  Spirit^  or  from  scriptures  opened  in 
ihe  Spirit,  (and  so  know  not  the  thing,  but  only  such  a 
relation  of  the  thing  as  man's  reasoning  part  may  drink 
in  from  the  letter  of  scriptures,)  is  manifest  by  this,  in 
that  they  are  not  able  in  spirit  and  understanding,  to 

DISTINGUISH  THE  THING  ITSELF,  FROM  THE  GARMENT  WHERE- 
WITH IT  WAS  CLOTHED,  though  the  Scriptures  be  very  express 
therein.  Speak  of  Christ  according  to  a  relation  of  the 
letter,  there  they  can  say  somewhat :  but  come  to  the 
substance, — come  to  the  spirit  of  the  thing, — come  to  the 
thing  itself,  there  they  stutter  and  stammer,  and  show 
plainly  that  they  know  not  what  it  is.'' 

Vol.  3,  p.  61. 

"  This  [the  Spirit]  is  manna  itself,  the  true  treasure  ; 
the  other,  but  the  visible,  or  earthen  vessel  which  held 
it.  The  body  of  flesh  was  but  the  veil ;  (Heb.  x.  20,) 
the  eternal  life  was  the  substance  veiled :  the  one  he  did 
paj-take  of  as  therest  of  the  children  did,^^  &c. 

Ibid,  vol.  1,  p.  360. 

"What !  Dost  thou  know  me  after  the  flesh,  after  the 
body  1  Dost  thou  take  that  for  me  1  The  body  is  from 
below  ;  the  body  is  like  one  of  yours,  (only  sanctified 
by  the  Father,  and  preserved  without  sin,)  but  I  am  the 
same  Spirit,  life  and  being  with  the  Father  :  we  are  one 
substance,  one  pure  power  of  life  /  and  we  cannot  be 
DIVIDED,"  Ibid,  vol.  3,  p.  32. 

Thomas  Zachary,  page  6,  bears  this  testimony  :  "  I 
came  to  see  the  idolatry  of  all  professors,  as  to  the  per- 


119 


son,  Christ,  as  to  the  body,  flesh  and  blood  ;  and  that 
the  faith  of  most  professors  went  no  further  than  the 
veil,  the  outward  j  and  reached  not  to  Christ  the  Saviour, 
the  life,  the  arm  and  power  of  God  j  not  to  Christ  in 
spirit,  but  in  flesh." 

Thus  our  early  writers  did  own  the  "  spirituality  of 
these  things,^''  which  the  "Declaration"  appears  to  be  too 
outward  to  receive.  It  was  their  belief,  that  the  Gospel 
dispensation  was  wholly  of  a  spiritual  nature  ;  the  proof 
of  which  must  fully  appear,  as  well  from  the  quotations 
already  made,  as  in  the  following  from  Isaac  Penning- 
ton, which  gives  the  sum  of  the  matter. 

'■'  The  New  Testament  state,  is  a  state  of  substance, 
even  of  that  spiritual  substance  which  the  law  held  out 
in  shadows.  The  Jew  is  inimrd, — the  circumcision 
inward, — the  sacrifices  inward, — the  Church  inward, — 
the  ministry  inward, — the  worship  inivard  ; — all  in  Spirit, 
in  life,  in  power,  in  virtue  :  the  whole  stat-e  is  answera- 
ble to  the  High  Priest  of  our  profession,  even  after  the 
power  of  the  endless  life.  By  the  eternal  Spirit  was  he 
made  a  minister:  by  it  he  preached:  ('  The  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  is  upon  me,  because  he  hath  anointed  me  to  preach 
the  gospel,'  &c.  Luke  iv.  18.)  Through  it  he  offered 
up  himself  a  sacrifice  without  spot  to  God.  (Heb.  ix. 
14.)  And  in  the  same  power  runs  the  vein  of  the  whole 
dispensation  of  the  Gospel ;  for  it  is  a  ministration  of 
the  Spirit.  (2  Cor.  iii.  8.)  Take  away  the  life,  take 
away  the  Spirit, — ye  take  away  the  stones  of  this  building  j 
ye  take  away  the  church  ;  ye  take  away  the  ministry  ;  ye 

TAKE  AWAY  ALL."  Vol.  2,  pp.  11^,  116. 

"  Christ,  as  he  is  God,  is  the  same  with  the  Father, 
and  no  more  a  distinct  person  from  him,  than  God  as 


120 


Light,  and  God  as  Love,  is  two  distinct  fountains;  one 
of  Light,  and  another  of  Love.  Hence,  with  the  strictest 
propriety,  his  name  is  and  ought  to  be  '  The  everlast- 
ing Father.'  Now,  if  he  is  the  everlasting  Father,  who 
can  distinguish  him  from  the  Father,  or  make  him  a 
distinct  person  1  Observe  well,  that  I  speak  of  Christ 
now,  as  he  is  God.  In  time,  he  became  the  son  of  man, 
and  partook  of  human  nature  ;  and  the  wisdom  of  men 
has  strove  hard  to  make  a  God  of  man  :  whereas,  the  dis- 
iinction  between  the  Godhead  and  the  manhood,  ought 
never  to  be  lost :  for  wherever  it  is,  language  will  be 
confounded.  God  was,  it  is  true,  'manifest  in  the  flesh;' 
but  do  Christians  worship  a  God  of  flesh  \  Was  the 
outward  body  of  Jesus,  the  Everlasting  Father  1  In 
one  place  we  read,  'the  Word  was  made  flesh.'  But 
I  never  could  believe  any  more  from  that  passage,  than 
that,  as  another  text  hath  it,  '  He  took  not  on  him  the 
nature  of  angels,  but  the  seed  of  Abraham.'  And  again: 
'  Forasmuch  as  the  brethren  were  partakers  of  flesh 
and  blood,  he  himself  also  took  part  of  the  same.'  So 
I  understand  that  he  only  took  flesh.  For  if  the  Word 
was  absolutely  made  flesh,  then  flesh  was  the  Word  ;  and 
the  Word  was  something  that  was  made  :  whereas,  '  the 
Word  was  in  the  beginning  with  God,'  and  truly  was 
God ;  consequently  was  not  made.  If  it  was  made,  it 
was  a  creature  :  if  it  was  not  made,  and  yet  was  real 
flesh,  then,  '  In  the  beginning  was '  flesh,  flesh  "  was 
with  God,'  and  flesh  'was  God!'  I  hope  the  reader 
is  satisfied  by  this  time,  that  flesh  is  not  God,  nor  any 
part  of  God."  /.  Pennington,  vol.  2,  p.  302. 

Again  :  In  allusion  to  the  text,  "  There  are  three  that 
bear  record  in  heaven,"  he  says,  "As  they  {doctors  of 
divinity]  handle  it,  they  advance  natural  flesh  and  blood 
to  Divinity ;  they  deify  a  person  of  shape  and  dimen- 


121 


sions,"  &c.  "  And  often  seek  to  enforce  these  notions 
on  mankind, — sometimes  by  the  point  of  the  sword, — 
sometimes  by  fire  and  faggot  :  and  were  I  an  honest 
deist ^  I  must  endure  their  tortures,  before  I  could  sub- 
scribe to  their  dogmas."  Ibid,  vol.  1,  p.  502. 

Edward  Hicks,  in  the  above  extract,  asks,  "  How  did 
he  leave  the  bosom  of  his  Father  !  Can  we  form  no 
other  idea  than  that  of  a  corporeal  being  leaving  a  lo- 
cated place,  somewhere  above  the  clouds,  and  coming 
down  to  this  earth  \  Is  this  the  coming  into  the  world 
that  is  meant  %  I  want  us  to  go  deeper,  to  come  to  the 
spirituality  of  these  things,''''  &c.  Now,  as  the  "  Declara- 
tion "  has  the  last  sentence  marked  as  objectionable,  we 
are,  according  to  it,  to  take  the  "  things  "  spoken  of, 
literally  :  for  there  are  but  the  two  modes  of  construc- 
tion, namely,  spiritual  and  literal,  that  can  apply  to 
the  subject.  Now  I  believe  that  the  spiritual  view  in 
this  case,  is  both  the  most  scriptural,  and  the  most 
rational,  as  well  as  the  most  edifying  :  for  we  are  told 
that  "He  is  not  a  God  afar  off;''''  and  that  "in  Him  we 
live,  and  move,  and  have  our  being."  And,  "  say  not 
in  thine  heart,  who  shall  ascend  into  heaven,  (that  is,  to 
bring  Christ  down  from  above,  &c.,)  but  the  Word  is 
nigh  thee,  even  in  thy  mouth,  and  in  thy  heart."  And 
again,  "  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  within  you." 

The  authors  of  the  "Declaration,"  would  be  profited 
by  that  spirituality  which  it  [the  "  Declaration  "]  con- 
demns. Salvation  is  a  spiritual  work,  wrought  by 
spirit  operating  upon  spirit ;  and  it  is  only  through  the 
agency  of  Spirit,  and  spiritual  views,  that  we  can  hope 
to  be  profited.    William  Penn  and  Joseph  Phipps  sus- 

11 


122 


tain  Edward  Hicks,  as  to  "the  spirituality  of  these 
things." 

In  answer  to  the  Baptists,  William  Penn  says,  "  Jlnd 
lis  to  Chriat  within,  both  to  save  and  rule,  (for  which  we 
are  accused,)  we  are  not  ashamed  of  him,  but  do  testify 
to  him  within,  and  his  government,  power,  and  authority 
within  :  and  have  not  been  ashamed  of  him  before  men, 
in  stormy  days  and  trials,  when  many  of  the  chieftains 
of  you  Baptists  were  fain  to  hide,  and  secure  yourselves, 
for  all  your  boasting  of  your  God  and  Christ  at  a  dis- 
tance above  the  clouds,  stars,  and  firmament.  It  isno  marvel 
that  in  such  trials,  fear  surprises  you  j  and  that  now  you 
can  carp,  and  cavil,  and  vilify  such  as  have  been  faithful 
in  sufferings,  when  you  so  much  oppose  the  Light  and 
Saviour  wit/mi."  Christian  Quaker,  p.  47. 

"  This  kingdom,"  says  Joseph  Phipps,  "  stands  not 
in  locality — not  in  any  her e and  t her e.^^  "  It  stands  in  an 
infinite  and  heavenly  Spirit,  Life  and  nature,  wherein 
nothing  impure  can  live  or  enter.  It  is  the  internal 
dominion,  or  ruling  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  men  and 
angels." — "Whoever  lives  under  the  sensible  influence 
and  government  of  it,  lives  in  this  kingdom.  This  is 
the  kingdom  of  the  saints  militant  on  earth,  and  of  the 
saints  triumphant  in  heaven.  It  being  experienced  by 
the  sanctified  in  Christ  Jesus,  in  part  whilst  in  this 
Avorld,  and  enjoyed  in  its  fulness,  in  the  world  to  come." 

Phipps  on  the  original  and  present  state  of  Man,  "p.  208. 

"  That  God,  Christ,  and  Spirit,  the  Quakers  own,  is 
no  other  but  the  true  God  and  Christ ;  even  that  God 
that  cannot  be  confined,  circumscribed,  or  limited  to  a 
place  of  residence,  seeing  the  heaven  of  heavens  cannot 
contain  him  ;  and  that  Christ  which  ascended  far  above 


123 


all  heavens  that  he  might  fill  all  things,  who  is  God 
over  all  blessed  for  ever.  And  this  God,  Christ,  and  the 
Spirit,  the  Quakers  did  not  find  above  the  clouds,  where 
the  Baptist  imagines,  at  such  a  distance ;  for  they 
never  ascended  thither  to  seek  their  residence  above  the 
clouds,  where  the  Baptist  tells  of  finding  God  and 
Christ,  though  they  were  never  there  themselves  to  find 
him ;  and  it  seems  they  are  likely  to  be  without  both, 
while  they  are  telling  of  finding  God  and  Christ  above 
the  clouds  where  they  cannot  come.'''' 

George  Whitehead,  Christian  Quaker,  p.  35 


Article  XXXII.  The  Declaration  quotes  from  the 
Berean,  as  follows : 

"  The  Berean  says,  '  We  read  that  the  Word  was  in 
the  beginning  with  God,  and  was  God  ;'  and  respecting 
the  Son  we  read,  '  This  day  have  I  begotten  thee.' 
Before  this  day  then,  the  Son  could  not  have  existed.  How 
therefore,  is  the  Son  from  everlasting  1" 

Vol.  1,  p.  296. 

Job  Scott,  on  this  question,  says,  "But  now,  to  re- 
turn to  the  subject  of  the  absolute  dependence  of  the  Son 
upon  the  Father:  Some  may  think  it  very  strange  that 
I  dare  assert,  that  he  is  as  dependant  for  wisdom,  power, 
and  refreshment  of  soul,  as  any  of  us  ;  for  they  have 
been  taught  that  the  Son  was  the  Son  from  all  eternity  ; 
begotten,  and  yet  as  begotten,  as  old  as  the  Father  :  and 
that  as  the  Son  and  begotten,  he  was  very  God!  A 
darker  doctrine  than  which  I  do  not  remember  to  have  met 
with  in  heathen  mythology .^^ 

Salvation  by  Christ,  p.  35. 


124 


An  opponent,  contending  for  the  doctrine  of  '^'^  three 
disti7ict  persons  "  in  the  Deity,  with  George  Whitehead, 
and  quoting  Psal.  ii.  7,  "  The  Lord  hath  said  unto  me, 
Thou  art  my  son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee,"  George 
Whitehead  says,  "But  hereby  he  did  not  prove  the 
terms,  three  persons  in  the  Deity,  or  three  distinct  co- 
eternal  personalities  in  the  Godhead,  according  to  their 
principle  :  for  he  could  not  deny  Christ  the  Son  of  God 
was  begotten  in  time,  and  that  '  This  day  have  I  begotten 
thee,'  was  an  act  in  time.  And  yet  the  Son  of  God,  the 
Eternal  Word,  was  in  and  with  God  from  eternity,  before 
days  and  time,  and  in  due  time  proceeded  and  came  out 
from  God;  in  the  fulness  of  time,  God  sent  his  Son,  made 
of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,"  &c. 

George  Whitehead's  Journal,  p.  195. 


Akticle  XXXIII.  The  Declaration  goes  on  to  quote 
from  the  Berean,  thus:  "In  what  manner,  then,  or  by 
what  means  was  he  [Jesus]  made  more  than  man  1  I 
answer  by  the  same  means,  and  in  the  same  manner,  that 
every  other  righteous,  undefiled  man  is  raised  above  the 
mere  human  character  ;  that  is  to  say,  by  the  power  and 
spirit  of  God  the  Father." 

Bed.,  p.  23.    Berean,  vol.  2,  p.  258. 

As  it  regards  the  "means,"  it  was  manifestly  the 
Holy  Spirit.  "  I  will  put  my  Spirit  \ipnn  him."  The 
Father  "  gave  him  the  Spirit."  "  He  partook  of  it," 
says  Isaac  Pennington,  "  as  the  rest  of  the  children  did" 
"  That  which  kept  his  vessel  pure,  it  is  the  same  thing  that 
cleanseth  us,"  says  the  same  author. 

"  We  witness  him  the  same  Christ,"  says  William 


125 


Dewsbery,  "  as  was  in  that  body  that  suffered  at  Jerusa- 
lem ;  and  every  one  of  the  children  of  liglit  in  the  mea- 
sure of  growth  in  him,  the  same  mind  is  in  them  that  was 
in  Christ  Jesus,  who  is  the  brightness  of  the  Father's 
glory." 

"  By  feeling  and  knowing  the  Lamb  in  ow  vessels,  we 
know  also  what  was  the  Lamb  in  his  vessel.'''' 

I.  Pennington,  vol.  3,  p.  20. 

"  There  is  no  serving  God  aright,  or  performing  any 
duty  or  ordinance  of  worship  towards  him  aright,  but  in 

a  measure  of  the  same  life  a?id  spirit  wherewith  Christ 
served  him"  Thomas  Zachary,  p.  189, 


Article  XXXIV.  "  He  was  but  an  instrument  and 
servant  of  God ;  but  more  dignified  and  glorious  than 
any  other  than  had  ever  appeared  in  the  world." 

Berean,  vol.  2,  p.  259. 

The  quotation  from  Isaac  Pennington  comes  in  place 
here.  Speaking  of  the  high  professors  having  obtained 
their  knowledge  of  Christ  from  the  letter,  and  not  from 
the  Spirit,  he  gives  this  fact  in  proof  of  it,  namely, 
"That  they  are  not  able,  to  distinguish  the  thing  itself 
from  the  garment  wherewith  it  was  clothed,  though  the 
Scriptures  be  very  express  therein^  See  under  Article 
XXXII, 

"  We  ire  not  to  suppose  two  Saviours,  or  sanctifiers," 
says  George  Whitehead. 

Light  and  Life  of  Christ,  pp.  45,  49. 
11* 


126 


"  I  do  affirm,"  says  William  Bayly,  that  they  who 
preach  and  pray  in  the  spirit,  and  power,  and  light,  and 
wisdom  of  God,  do  pray  in  the  name  of  Jesus  ;  for  Jesus 
is  but  a  name,  wliich  was  given  unto  that  which  was 
BEFouE  that  name  was,"  &c. 

"  Now  if  ye  know  the  Christ  of  God,"  says  Isaac 
Pennington,  "  tell  us  plainly  what  that  was  that  appeared 
in  the  body.  Whether  that  was  not  the  Christ,  before 
it  took  up  the  body, — after  it  took  up  the  body,  and  for 
ever"?"  "  The  taking  up  of  the  body,"  says  the  same 
author,  "  made  no  alteration  in  him ;  added  nothing  to 
him" 

"Behold,  this  is  the  state  of  restitution  ;"  [Christ 
within,]  says  William  Penn,  "and  this  in  some  measure 
was  witnessed  by  the  holy  patriarchs,  prophets  and 
servants  of  God,  in  old  time,  to  whom  Christ  was,  suh- 
stantially,  the  same  Saviour  and  Seed,  bruising  the  serpent'' s 
head,  that  he  is  now  to  us  ;  what  difference  soever  there 
may  be  in  point  of  manifestitiony 

Christian  Quaker,  pp.  198,  200. 
"  The  seed  of  the  woman  is  Christ  in  his  people.'''' 

William  Bayly. 
"  Yea,  he  is  Christ  whom  a  man  cannot  see  but  he  must 
see  the  Father.''^    Isaac  Pennington.    ("He  that  seeth 
me,  seeth  my  Father  also."    New  Testament.) 

I  have  recited  the  above  passages  (most  of  which 
have  been  given  before,)  to  remind  the  reader  of  the 
distinction  made  by  our  early  writers,  between  the  out- 
ward person  that  appeared  at  Jerusalem,  "visible"  to 
the  carnal  eye,  and  whose  body  was  crucified  by  the 
wicked  Jews, — and  the  true  Saviour  of  the  world, — the 
"arm  and  power  of  God," — the  "  wisdom  of  God  and 
the  power  of  God," — the  Word  that  was  with  God,  and 


127 


was  God,  who  is  over  all,  through  all,  and  in  us  all, — 
blessed  for  ever  ;  who  was  not,  nor  could  ever  be  seen  by 
carnal  eyes,  nor  outwardly  crucified  by  the  creatures 
which  he  has  made. 

Now  it  is  that  visible  person  who  was  crucified  at 
Jerusalem,  to  which  the  Berean  gives  the  character  of  a 
"  servant."  "  Behold  my  servant,  whom  /  uphold, — mint- 
elect,  in  whom  my  soul  delighteih,  /  have  put  my  Spirit 
upon  him  ;  he  shall  bring  forth  judgment  to  the  Gen- 
tiles," "  Who,  being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it 
not  robbery,"  as  the  Word-God,  "  to  be  equal  with 
God.  But  made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took 
upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the 
likeness  of  man  [the  man  Jesus]  ;  and  being  found  in 
fashion  as  a  man,  he  humbled  himself,  and  became  obedi- 
ent unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross."  Phil.  ch. 
2.    Isa.  xlii.  1. 

On  this  subject,  William  Penn  says,  "  Not  that  we 
should  irreverently  rob  the  holy  body  of  whatsoever 
acknowledgment  is  justly  due,  nor  yet  separate  that 
which  God  hath  joined.  Tho.igh  I  confess  with  holy 
fear,  I  dare  not  attribute  that  to  an  external  prepared  being, 
which  is  the  natural,  proper,  and  only  work  of  the 
Divine  life  and  light  to  operate  and  effect.  But  certainly, 
if  some  men  in  Scripture  are  entitled  Saviours,  because 
of  the  contribution  of  their  trials,  travels,  and  labours, 
towards  the  salvation  of  mankind,  of  much  more  rio-ht 
is  thiit  honour  ascribable  to  him  who  had  the  Spirit 
without  measure.  For  I  do  freely  acknowledge  the  holy 
manhood  to  have  been,  in  some  sense,  a  co-worker  and 
partner  with  the  Divine  life,  in  those  trials,  weights, 
sufferings,  and  travails  for  mankind.  Yet,  as  it  was  the 
Divine  power  in  them,  that  made  them  serviceable  in 


128 


that  great  work,  so  was  it  the  Divine  life  in  him,  which 
made  that  holy  manhood  what  it  was  /  and  therefore 
ought  we  chiejiy  to  appropriate  the  salvation  to  Christ, 
as  the  WoRD-GoD,  and  to  the  holy  manhood  not  any 
otherwise  than  instrumeatallv,  or  by  the  same  Divine 
power,  in  and  through  it :  I  mean  as  it  was  a  chosen 
INSTRUMENT,  or  vcssel,  in  and  by  which  God  declared 
the  blessed  glad  tidings  of  love,  and  his  message  of  re- 
conciliation to  the  world." 

Christian  Quaker,  y>^.  199,  200. 
Now  it  is  this  "  external,  prepared  being,"  which  the 
Berean  speaks  of. 


Article  XXXVII.  "  On  the  ofTering  of  our  Lord  on 
the  cross  (says  the  Declaration,)  as  a  sacrifice  for  sin, 
Elias  Hicks  remarks,  '  But  I  do  not  consider  that  the 
crucifixion  of  the  outward  body  of  flesh  and  blood  of 
Jesus  on  the  cross,  was  an  atonement  for  any  sins  lut  the 
legal  sins  of  the  Jews,^  &c.  '  Surely,  is  it  possible  that 
any  rational  being  that  has  any  right  sense  of  justice  or 
mercy,  would  be  willing  to  accept  forgiveness  of  his 
sins  on  such  terms  !  !  Would  he  not  rather  go  forward, 
and  offer  himself  wholly  up  to  suffer  all  the  penalties 
due  to  his  crimes,  rather  than  tlie  innocent  should  suffer  1 
Nay,  was  he  so  hardy  as  to  acknowledge  a  willingness 
to  be  saved  through  such  a  medium,  ^yould  it  not  prove 
that  he  stood  in  direct  opposition  to  every  principle  of 
justice  and  honesty,  of  mercy  and  love,  and  show-  himself 
^o  be  a  poor  selfish  creature,  unworthy  of  notice  !  !  !" 

"  Elias  Hicks's  letter  to  JV'.  Shoemaker.''^ 

The  above  extract  is  taken  from  a  private  letter,  writ- 
ten by  Elias  Hicks  to  Nathan  Shoemaker. 


129 


On  this  subject,  William  Pciiii  says,  "And  fiivtlier, 
you  blasphemously  charge  Divine  justice  with  punishing 
your  sins  to  the  full  in  Christ,  or  punishing  him  that 
was  ever  innocent,  to  the  full  for  your  sins ;  so  that  you 
account  it  against  justice,  to  punish  your  sins  again  in 
you,  though  you  live  and  die  in  them.  And  yet  you 
?hink  it  an  excellent  j^iece  of  justice  to  punish  the  innocent 
to  the  full  of  the  guilty.  But  your  mistake  in  this  is 
gross,  as  will  further  appear,  and  you  will  not  hereby 
be  acquitted,  nor  cleared.  This  will  not  prove  you 
invested  with  Chrisi's  everlasting  righteousness ;  nor  will 
this  cover  your  own  filthy  rags,  or  hide  your  shame." 

"  And  while  you  think  that  you  are  secured  in  your 
sins  from  the  stroke  of  justice,  as  having  been  fully 
executed,  and  that  by  way  of  revenge  upon  the  innocent 
Son  of  God,  in  punishing  your  sins  to  the  full  upon  him; 
I  say,  while  you  state  this  as  the  nature  of  the  satisfac- 
tion by  Christ  suffering  in  your  stead,  the  whole  world 
may  as  well  acquit  itself  thereby  from  punishment,  as 
you  :  for  he  died  for  all,  and  "  is  the  propitiation  for 
the  sins  of  the  whole  world."  And  therefore,  if  this 
must  be  looked  upon  as  the  full  punishment  of  sin,  that 
it  was  laid  upon  Christ,  and  that  "  the  sin  cannot  be 
again  punished  after  such  satisfaction,"  this  may  make 
a  merry  world  in  sin,  once  punished  to  the  full  in  Christ, 
never  to  be  punished  again  upon  the  offender  which  the 
law  directly  takes  hold  of.  Oh !  soothing  doctrine  to 
sinners  !  the  plain  effect  of  which  is,  to  make  the  wicked 
world  rejoice  in  a  sinful  state,  and  say,  '  0  admirable 
justice  .'  that  was  pleased  thus  to  revenge  thyself  upon 
an  innocent  man  that  never  sinned,  and  to  punish  our 
sins  to  the  full  upon  him  !  O  transcendent  mercy,  that 
hast  found  out  this  expedient,  that  we  might  be  fully 
acquitted,  pardoned,  and  discharged  from  the  penalty 
that  is  just,  and  due  to  us  for  all  our  sins,  past,  present, 


130 


and  to  come.'  Oh!  what  glad  tidings  are  these  to  the 
hypocrites  and  drunkards,  &c.  And  how  merry  they 
are  apt  to  be  in  their  sins,  upon  their  ministers'  pro- 
claiming such  an  act  of  indemnity  of  all  offences  and 
injuries,  past,  present,  and  to  come,  not  only  against 
their  neighbours,  but  against  God  himself." 

Christian  Quaker,  pp.  404,  405. 

William  Penn,  in  his  "  Sandy  Foundation  Shaken," 
after  exposing  the  anti-scriptural  and  irrational  charac- 
ter of  the  common  doctrine  of  Atonement,  or  Satisfac- 
tion, says,  "  It  no  way  renders  man  beholding,  [be- 
holden,] or  in  the  least  obliged  to  God  ;  since,  by  their 
doctrine,  He  would  not  have  abated  us,  nor  did  He 
Christ,  the  last  farthing  :  so  that  the  acknowledgments 
are  peculiarly  the  Son's ;  which  destroys  the  whole 
current  of  Scripture-testimony  for  his  good  will  towards 
men.  Oh  !  the  infamous  portraiture,  this  doctrine  draws 
of  the  Infinite  Goodness  !  Is  this  your  retribution,  O 
injurious  satisfactionists  V 

"No  one  can  show  from  the  Scriptures,"  says  Luther 
to  the  people  of  Wittemberg,  "  that  God's  justice  re- 
quires a  penalty  or  satisfaction  from  the  sinner  :  the 
only  duty  it  imposes  on  him,  is,  a  true  repentance,  a 
sincere  change  of  heart,  a  resolution  to  bear  the  cross 
of  Christ,  and  to  strive  to  do  good  works." 

B'' Jlubigne' s  Reformation,  p.  75. 


Article  XXXVIII.  The  Declaration  quotes  as  fol- 
lows: "Did  Jesus  Christ,  the  Saviour,  ever  have  any 
material  blood  1    Not  a  drop  of  it,  my  friends, — not  a 


131 


drop  of  it.  That  blood  which  cleanseth  from  all  sin, 
was  the  life  of  the  soul  of  Jesus." 

Dec/.,  p.  25.    Quaker^  vol.  1,  p.  41. 

George  Fox,  in  his  Doctrinals,  pp.  644-5,  says,  "  So 
the  blood  of  the  Old  Covenant  was  the  life  of  the  beasts 
and  other  creatures  ;  and  the  blood  of  the  J\'ew  Cove- 
nant is  the  life  of  Christ  Jesus,  who  saith,  '  Except  ye 
eat  my  flesh,  and  drink  my  blood,  ye  have  no  life  in  you.'' 
So  it  is  by  the  life,  the  blood  of  this  spotless  lamb,  that 
all  his  people  are  sanctified  and  redeemed  to  God,  and 
sprinkled  and  washed,  their  hearts,  consciences,  taber- 
nacles, vessels,  and  altar  in  the  tabernacle  ;  and  the  fat, 
or  grossness  consumed  by  his  fire  on  the  altar  :  by  which 
they  come  to  be  a  royal  priesthood,  offering  up  spiritual 
sacrifices  to  God  through  Jesus  Christ.  So  the  blood  of 
the  new  and  everlasting  Covenant,  is  the  life  of  Christ, 
which  all  the  believers  in  the  Light  are  to  walk  in,  and 
to  be  cleansed  by  it,  giving  all  honour  and  glory  to  God 
and  the  Lamb,  who  hath  redeemed  us  to  God  by  his 
blood." 

"And  therefore  hath  He,  out  of  his  infinite  love,  and 
tender  mercies  to  the  sons  of  men,  prepared  a  way  to 
draw  nigh  unto  them,  even  while  they  are  in  their  sins; 
which  he  doth  not,  but  through  Jesus  Christ  the  media- 
tor of  the  new  Covenant,  whom  he  hath  freely  given  to 
be  a  LIGHT  unto  the  dark  world,  and  that  he  should  en- 
lighten every  one  that  cometh  into  tlie  world  :  (John  i. 
9.)  Of  which  number  thou  [reader]  art  one,  whoso- 
ever thou  art,  and  art  enlightened  by  Christ,  thougli 
thou  be  yet  darkness  in  thyself,  as  the  Ephcsians  once 
were:  yet  the  light  shineth  in  thy  darkness,  or  else 
there  would  not  be  two  contrary  natures  and  seeds 


132 


found  working  in  thee,  as  there  are.    And  this  light 
wherewith  thou  art  enlightened,  is  i/ie  life  of  Jesus  j 
(John  i.  i,)  which  he  hath  given  a  ransom  for  man.'''' 
Stephen  Crisp's  Works,  p.  125. 

On  the  same  subject,  George  Whitehead,  in  the  Chris- 
tian Quaker,  says,  "Was  not  the  object  and  foundation 
of  faith  in  being  through  all  ages  %  Did  not  the  prophets 
believe,  and  follow  the  spirit  of  Christ  in  them  % 
(1  Peter  i.)  From  whence  then  was  the  efficacy  of 
salvation  derived  1  Was  it  from  Spirit,  or  from  flesh  1 
Surely  it  is  the  Spirit  that  quickens:  if  so,  the  efficacy 
was  spiritual,  not  natural,  or  that  which  could  not  he  lost. 
But  whereas  so  much  mention  is  made  of  the  blood 
shedding,  and  so  much  virtue  and  efficacy  seems  to  be 
derived  from  it,  I  ask.  Is  it  not  a  spiritual,  supernatural 
virtue,  poioer  and  ejjficacy;  that  cleanseth,  saveth,  and 
justifieth.  If  it  be,  how  then  does  it  proceed  from  the 
shedding  of  blood  outwardly  ?  (which  shedding  by  the 
soldier's  spear,  was  a  wicked  man's  act.)  Or  from  the 
essence  of  the  blood,  if  it  perished  and  be  not  in 
being,  as  is  confessed  1  And  is  it  good  doctrine  to  say, 
that  the  blood,  or  life,  which  sanctifies  and  justifies  true 
believers  in  all  ages,  is  not  in  being  1  When  sanctifica- 
tion,  purging  the  conscience,  &c.,  is  a  real  work,  can  it 
be  done  by  a  thing  that  is  not  1  And  yet  we  know  that 
Christ,  the  one  offering,  the  living  sacrifice,  and  the 
blood  of  the  Covenant,  which  cleanseth  them  that  walk 
in  the  Light  (1  John  i.  7,)  is  still  in  being,  and  was 

THROUGHOUT  ALL  AGES." 

Christian  Quaker,  pp.  45,  46. 

"  With  what  doth  this  Redeemer  ['  the  Eternal 
Word,']  redeem  1    Answer.  '  With  his  own  life,  with 


133 


kis  own  blood,  with  his  own  eternal  virtue  and  purity. 
He  descendeth  into  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth, — be- 
comes flesh  there, — sows  his  own  seed  in  the  prepared 
earth, — begets  of  his  flesh  and  of  his  bone,  in  his  own 
likeness, — and  nourisheth  up  his  birth  with  his  flesh  and 
blood,  unto  life  everlasting.'''' 

"  What  is  this  life,  or  how  doth  it  first  manifest 
itself  in  the  darkness  1  Ans.  It  is  the  Light  of  bien. 
It  is  that  which  gave  light  to  Adam  at  first, — again  to 
him  after  the  fall,  and  to  all  men  since  the  fall.  It  en- 
lightens in  nature ;  it  enlightened  under  the  law.  It 
did  enlighten  under  the  Gospel  before  the  apostacy ; 
and  again  since  the  apostacy." 

Isaac  Pennington,  vol.  2,  p.  281. 

*'  But  in  this  notion  of  satisfaction,  he  [an  opposer] 
appears  very  short  and  shallow ;  though  it  be  not  a 
Scripture  phrase,  as  T.  Danson  grants;  and  though  it 
depend  but  upon  '  some  notions  of  law,'  as  Doctor  Owen 
saith, — That  all  men's  debts  should  be  so  strictly  paid, 
or  such  a  severe  satisfaction  made,  to  vindicate  justice, 
by  Christ  in  their  stead,  which  God  never  imposed  on  the 
Son  of  his  love,  and  that  for  sins  past,  present,  and  to 
come,  (as  some  say,)  is  inconsistent." 

George  Whitehead  in  Christian  Quaker,  p.  322. 

The  same  writer  says,  "  The  Quakers  see  no  need  of 
directing  men  to  the  type  for  the  antitype,  viz.,  neither  to 
the  outward  temple,  nor  yet  to  Jerusalem, — to  Jesus 
Christ,  or  to  liis  blood  ;  knowing  that  neither  the 
righteousness  of  faith,  nor  the  word  of  it,  doth  so  direct. 
(Rom,  X.)  And  is  it  the  Baptist's  doctrine  to  direct 
men  to  the  material  temple  and  Jerusalem, — the  type 
for  the  antitype  1  What  nonsense  and  darkness  is  this! 
And  where  do  tlie  Scriptures  say,  the  blood  was  tliere 

12 


134 


shed  ioT  justification  ;  and  that  men  must  be  directed  to 
Jerusalem  to  it  %  (whereas  that  blood  shed,  is  not  in 
being-.)  But  the  true  apostle  directed  them  to  the 
Light,  for  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  to  cleanse  them 
from  all  sin." — George  Whitehead's  Light  and  Life  of 
Christ  within,  p.  34" 

"  For  he  that  delighted  not  in  sacrifice  and  bnrnt- 
ofTerings,  neither  could  he  delight  in  liyssop,  or  water, 
or  blood,  outward  or  ?iatural,  but  in  that  which  melteth 
the  heart,  and  purifieth  the  conscience  from  that  which 
is  dead  and  unclean,  in  that  is  God's  delight  ;  and  in 
that  which  is  melted  and  broken,  and  purified  by  it." 

/.  Pennington,  vol.  4,  p.  130. 

"  My  first  testimony,"  says  William  Penn,  "  is  out 
of  that  great  English  author  and  worthy  man.  Bishop 
Jewell,  who,  speaking  of  what  Christ  was  to  the  Jews 
in  the  wilderness,  says  thus  :  '  Christ  had  not  yet  taken 
upon  him  a  natural  body,  yet  they  did  eat  his  body. 
He  had  not  yet  shed  his  blood,  yet  they  drank  his  blood.' 
St.  Paul  saith,  '  All  did  eat  the  same  spiritual  meat ;' 
that  is,  the  body  of  Christ :  '  all  did  drink  the  same 
spiritual  drink  that  is,  the  blood  of  Christ ;  and  that 
as  verily  and  truly  as  we  do  now.  And  whosoever  then 
did  so  eat,  lived  forever.""  Bishop  J  ewelVs  sermon. 

"  I  think,"  says  William  Penn,"  a  pregnant  and  apt 
testimony  to  Christ  being  the  Christ  of  God,  before  his 
coming  in  the  flesh," 


Article  XXXIX.  "  And  there  is  nothing  but  a  sur- 
render of  our  own  will,  that  can  make  atonement  for  our 
sins."  Quaker,  vol.  1,  p.  196. 


135 


"  Nothing  can  atone  for  sin,  httt  that  which  induced  m 
to  sin."  Vol.  2,  p.  271. 

"  And  what  are  we  to  do  1  We  are  to  give  up  this 
life  [our  will]  to  suffer,  and  die  upon  the  cross  ;  for 
this  is  the  atonement  for  all  our  sins."         Ibid,  p.  272. 

This  article  is  composed  of  detached  sentences,  taken 
from  the  sermons  ;  and  in  order  that  the  subject  may 
be  fairly  represented,  we  will  supply  the  context  for 
explanation;  the  extracts  being  included  in  brackets. 

"  We  must  die  to  self,  and  all  its  operations.  It  is 
the  death  that  is  pointed  out  by  the  death  of  Jesus : 
that  was  outward,  but  we  must  die  this  inward  death  in 
our  souls.  And  when  this  is  the  case,  it  will  cause  a 
resurrection  by  the  grace  and  power  of  God.  For  He 
that  raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead,  outwardly,  will 
cause  us  to  be  raised  up  into  newness  of  life  :  for  they 
that  are  baptised  into  Ciirist,  are  baptized  into  his 
death.  And  all  those  that  are  willing  to  be  baptized 
into  his  death,  it  must  be  by  obedience  to  the  grace  of 
God, — by  obedience  to  its  teaching  as  to  what  we  are 
to  give  up  and  surrender.  And  what  is  it  1  It  is  the 
life  of  man  that  is  to  be  delivered  up,  as  the  natural  life 
of  Jesus  was.  And  that  answered  a  peculiar  purpose  to 
the  Jewish  nation,  as  it  put  an  end  to  their  testimonies, 
their  law  and  covenant, — that  they  might  enter  into  a 
better  covenant,  wherein  the  sacrifice  was  to  be  the  life 
of  the  creature  ;  [/or  nothing  can  atone  for  sin,  but  that 
which  induced  us  to  sin.^  Here  we  must  die  to  all  the 
sins  which  we  have  committed,  in  our  own  wills." 

"Jesus  Christ  did  not  come  to  do  his  own  will ;  but 
the  will  of  Him  that  sent  him.  Everything  that  we  do 
in  our  own  will,  will  never  do  at  all ;  it  is  transgression. 
For,  by  indulging  this  will,  we  continually  oppose  God, 


136 


and  reject  his  counsel ;  we  take  the  seat  of  God  in  the 
heart,  and  exalt  ourselves  above  all  that  is  called  God, 
or  that  is  worshipped.  [^raJ  what  are  we  to  do  1  We 
are  to  give  up  this  life  to  suffer  and  die  upon  the  cross  :  for 
this  is  the  atonemeiU  for  all  our  sins.'\  So  far  as  we  give 
up  the  life  that  causes  us  to  sin,  so  far  He  is  reconciled 
to  us,  as  in  the  case  of  the  prodigal." 

This  great  Gospel  doctrine  was  preached  by  Christ 
in  that  "  prepared  body,"  as  recorded  by  all  the  evange- 
lists. '  Then  said  Jesus  unto  his  disciples,  '  If  any 
man  will  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself  and  take 
up  his  cross,  and  follow  me.  For  whosoever  will  save 
his  life,  shall  lose  it ;  and  whosoever  will  lose  his  life  for 
my  sake,  shall  find  it.'  "    Matt.  ch.  xvi.  24,  25. 

"  Ye  must  come  to  the  Word  of  faith,  to  which  Paul 
directs,  (Rom.  x.  6,)  by  the  hearing  whereof,  is  the  jus- 
tification, and  not  by  a  bare  believing  that  Christ's  blood 
was  shed :  for  it  is  the  virtue  of  the  blood  which  saves  ; 
which  virtue  is  in  the  living  Word,  and  is  felt  and  re- 
ceived in  hearing,  believing,  and  obeying  that  Word; 
thereby  bringing  into  unity  and  conformity  with  him, 
both  in  his  death,  and  in  his  resurrection  and  life.  [That 
is,  to  '  give  up  this  life  to  sufler  and  die  upon  the 
cross,'  or  surrendering  '  our  wz'//.']  This  is  the  only 
WAY  TO  life  ;  be  not  deceived :  there  is  not,  nor  evee 
WAS,  ANY  other."        Isuac  Pennington^  vol.  2,  p.  58. 

"Thus,  the  first  Covenant  was  dedicated  with  the 
blood,  which  was  the  life  of  all  flesh.  But  the  new  and 
second  Covenant  is  dedicated  with  the  blood,  the  life  of 
Christ  Jesus,  which  is  the  alone  atonement  unto  God  : 


137 


by  which  all  his  people  are  washed,  sanctified,  cleansed 
and  redeemed  to  God,"  &c. 

George  Fox's  Docirinals,  p.  646. 

The  life,  or  light,  or  spiritual  blood,  which  with 
George  Fox,  all  speak  the  same  thing,  is  then,  according 
to  George  Fox,  the  alone  atonement;  or  that  which  re- 
conciles man  to  God.  How  does  it  reconcile  ^.  It  brings 
us  to  give  up  our  corrupt  will,  the  life  which  we  have 
in  those  things  which  the  Light  shows  us  to  stand  in  op» 
position  to  the  will  of  God. 

On  this  subject  William  Penn  says,  "For  the  suffer- 
ings of  that  holy  body"  of  Jesus,  had  an  engaging  and 
procuring  virtue  in  them, — though  the  Divine  life  was 
that  fountain  from  whence  originally  it  came.  And  as 
the  life  declared  and  preached  forth  itself  through  that 
holy  body,  so  those  who  then  came  to  the  benefit  pro- 
cured by  the  Divine  life,  could  only  do  it  through  an 
hearty  confession  to  it,  as  appearing  in  that  body  ;  and 
that  from  a  sense  first  begotten  by  a  measure  of  the 
same  in  themselves.  This  is  the  main  import  of  those 
places  :  '  Whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation 
and  '  In  whom  we  have  redemption,  through  faith  in 
his  blood.'  Rom.  iii.  25.  For  who  is  this  He  whom 
God  hath  set  forth,  and  in  whom  is  redemption  l  Cer- 
tainly the  same  He  that  was  before  Abraham  ;  the 
Rock  of  the  fathers,  that  cried,  '  Lo  !  I  come  to  do  thy 
will,  O  God, — a  body  hast  thou  prepared  me.'  Heb.  x. 
5,  7.  Which  was  long  before  the  body  was  conceived 
and  born,"  Christian  Quaker,  p.  205. 

"  For  Aaron  the  high  priest,  sprinkled  the  blood  upon 
the  people,  which  was  the  life  of  the  clean  beasts,  and 

12* 


138 


made  an  atonement  with  it  for  himself  and  the  people, 
in  the  Old  Covenant  and  testament.  But  Christ  with 
his  own  blood,  which  is  the  life  of  him,  the  Lamb  of  God 
without  blemish,  which  takes  away  the  sins  of  the  world, 
he  the  high  priest  sprinkles  the  hearts  and  consciences 
of  his  people  with  his  own  blood,  which  is  his  life,  and 
with  it  makes  atonement  to  God  for  the  sins  of  the 
world."  George  Fox^s  Doctrinals,  p.  775. 


Article  XL.  "  At  the  Green  street  meeting,  Edward 
Hicks  says,  '  This  Avork,  he  [.Tesus  Christ]  declared  to 
be  finished  previous  to  his  being  crucified  in  that  out- 
ward body.  Therefore,  what  must  we  suppose  will 
become  of  the  doctrine,  so  generally  received  in  the 
Christian  world,  that  one  of  the  main  purposes  of  his 
mission,  was  for  him  tosvffer  in  that  outward  body  without 
the  gates  of  Jervsalem,  as  a  propitiatory  sacrifice  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world  1  Here  is  a  difficulty  :  for  he 
positively  declares  tliat  he  had  glorified  his  Father,  and 
finished  the  work  that  the  Father  had  given  him  to  do. 
Now  it  must  follow  as  a  rational  and  clear  conclusion 
to  every  intelligent  mind,  that  he  must  have  told  truth, 
or  an  untruth.  If  he  told  the  truth,  then  he  had  finished 
the  work  which  his  heavenly  Father  had  given  him  to 
do  ;  and  if  he  told  an  untruth,  the  work  must  have  been 
yet  to  do.  But  I  am  not  disposed  to  believe  this.  I  do 
believe  in  the  truth  of  the  emphatic  testimony  of  the 
Saviour  himself,  '  I  have  finished  the  work and  there- 
fore that  his  sufferings  in  the  oiitward  body  were  never  in- 
corporated in  the  original  design  of  the  blessed  Saviour^s 
coming  into  the  World.''  "  Quaker,  vol.  2,  p.  162. 


139 


Thus  far  the  Declaration  quotes  ;  but  justice  to  the 
author  required  the  insertion  of  the  following  remarks, 
which  I  will  here  add  :  "  But,  my  friends,  the  suffer- 
ings through  which  he  was  to  pass,  were  spoken  of  by 
the  prophet  five  hundred  years  before  he  came  into  the 
Avorld — '  He  hath  poured  out  his  soul  unto  death.''  Mark — 
It  was  the  soul,  it  was  not  the  body  ;  it  was  the  immor- 
tal soul,  created  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,  that  was 
to  be  introduced  into  this  deep, state  of  suffering  ;  and 
it  behoved  him  to  suffer :  for  the  enlargement  and 
copiousness  of  his  mind  led  him  to  participate  in  the 
sufferings  of,  and  feel  for  every  intelligent  creature  that 
had  fallen  from  God.  And  hence,  Jesus  Christ  was 
baptized  into  the  sufferings  of  a  fallen  world,  and  this 
made  him  a  man  of  sorrow,  and  a  man  of  grief.  I  want 
our  minds  to  keep  to  this  great  point,  that  it  was  the 
z««jarcZ  sufferings  of  the  soul  of  Jesus  Christ,  that  was 
alluded  to  by  the  prophet ;  notwithstanding,  I  am  not 
disposed  to  set  lightly  of  the  pain  of  the  outward  body." 

Quaker,  vol.  2,  pp.  162,  163. 

The  following  passages  express  views  similar  to 
those  contained  in  the  extract : 

"Nor  is  this  all  the  irood,  the  cominjr  and  sufferings 
of  that  blessed  manhood  brought  into  the  world.  For, 
having  been  enabled  so  effectually  to  perform  the  will  of 
God,  '  LIVING,'  and  having  so  particularly  suffered  the  ivill 
of  wicked  men,  dying  ;  therein  offering  up  his  most 
innocent  life  for  the  world,  he  certainly  obtained  ex- 
ceeding great  and  precious  gifts,"  &"c. 

Thus,  according  to  William  Penn,  Jesus  fulfilled  the 
whole  will  of  God  whilst  livin^,^''  agreeably  to  his  own 
testimony  ;  "  I  have  finished  the  work,"  ire,  and  the 


140 


foulest  of  all  murders  perpetrated  upon  his  holy  person, 
was  by  and  through  the  will  of  man  alone. 

In  like  manner,  George  Whitehead :  "  How  can  S.  S. 
clear  himself  from  rendering  God  to  be  the  author  of  sin, 
while  he  accuses  Him  of  determining,  or  fore- ordaining 
the  wicked  actions  of  these  men, — of  fore-ordaining  the 
sin  !  Let  the  unbiassed  reader  judge,  whether  this  be 
not  an  unjust  charge  against  God." 

Christian  Quaker,  p.  479. 

"But  what  proof  hath  he  [an  opponent]  from  Scrip- 
ture, that  the  shedding  Christ's  blood  was  the  merito- 
rious cause  of  Justification, — seeing  it  was  shed  by  wicked 
hands  ?" 

George  Whitehead,  Christian  Quaker,  p.  350. 

"  For,  if  all  had  walked  in  his  light  within,  he  had 
not  been  persecuted  and  murdered."       Ibid,  p.  262. 

"  Had  the  princes  of  this  world  obeyed  the  light  of 
Christ  within,  they  would  not  have  crucified  the  Lord 
of  glory,  for  it  would  have  given  them  a  sense  and 
knowledge  of  him."  Ibid,  p.  276. 

It  does  not  appear  from  the  above  extracts,  that  the 
writers  believed  that  it  was  by  the  absolute  will  or  fore- 
ordination  of  God,  that  Jesus  was  murdered:  nor  that 
his  death  was  necessary,  through  or  by  an  immutable  de- 
cree, or  was  "  incorporated  in  the  original  design."  It  was 
expedient  that  Jesus  should  go  away,  as  lie  declared : 
but  it  is  not  necessary  to  conclude,  that  a  Being  omni- 
potent and  unlimited  in  all  His  actions,  could  not  accom- 
plish his  Divine  purposes  in  the  salvation  of  man,  inajiy 
other  way^  than  through  the  commission  of  so  great  a 
crime.    It  was  the  Divine  will  that  Jesus  should  swiw^V 


141 


to  this  dispensation,  and  the  merit  consisted  in  his  obe- 
dience thereto.  The  necessity  of  the  deed,  arose  from  the 
wickedness  of  men,  and  from  its  not  being  consistent 
witli  the  righteous,  although  inscrutable  administration 
of  the  Almighty  Being,  to  prevent  it. 

To  make  the  crucifixion  of  the  blessed  Jesus  necessary, 
from  the  predetermined  will  and  design  of  God,  involves 
the  Calvinistic  principle  of  predestination  ;  a  doctrine, 
not  less  abhorrent  to  Scripture  and  reason,  than  to  the 
pure  and  holy  attributes  of  Him  who  is  supremely  just 
and  equal  in  all  his  ways.  But  whilst  He  leaves  to  man, 
the  freedom  of  his  will  in  transgression,  it  consists  with 
his  infinite  goodness  so  to  overrule  and  direct  its  re- 
sults, as  to  accomplish  his  blessed  purposes  in  the 
earth,  and  to  make  every  event  work  together  for  good 
to  those  who  love  and  obey  Him. 

Thus,  the  shedding  the  blood  of  the  holy  Jesus,  was 
a  seal  and  ratification''''  oi  all  that  he  did  and  taught, 
"  in  his  blessed  message  of  love  and  reconciliation  to 
the  world."  Thus,  it  is  said,  that  the  church  is  watered 
by  the  blood  of  the  saints.  Jesus  told  his  disciples,  "  It 
is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth, — the  flesh  [outward]  pro- 
fiteth  nothing?''  And,  (to  adopt  ^(/«7ra  C/ar/c's  translation, 
for  which  there  is  good  authority,)  "  The  words  that  / 
have  spoken  unto  you,  they  are  spirit  and  life  ;"  that  is, 
the  words  "  flesh  and  blood,"  mean  spirit  and  life.  John 
vi.  63. 


Article  XLI.  "  But,  my  friends,  the  inward  sufTeriug 
of  the  immortal  soul,  is  infinitely  superior  to  all  out- 
ward sufferings  :  and  if  sin  is  atoned  for  in  our  souls,  it 


142 


will  require  a  sacrifice  proportionable  to  that  which  is 
to  be  benefited  by  it.  So  that  I  apprehend,  under  this 
spiritual  dispensation  and  day  of  light,  there  must  be  a 
sjnritual  and  inward  sacrifice  for  our  sins." 

Quaker,  vol.  2,  p.  163. 

Article  XLII.  The  Berean  says,  "Whatever  re- 
demption, therefore,  was  effected  by  the  outward  flesh 

and  blood  of  Christ,  it  could  7iot  in  the  nature  of  things,  be 
any  thing  else  than  an  outward  redemption." 

Vol.  2,  p.  52. 

"  For  he  that  delighted  not  in  sacrifice,  nor  burnt 
offerings,  neither  could  he  delight  in  hyssop,  nor  water, 
or  blood  outward  or  natural,  but  in  that  which  melteth  the 
heart,  and  purifieth  the  conscience,"  &c. 

Isaac  Pennington,  vol.  4,  p.  130. 

"But  what  proof  hath  he  from  Scripture,  that  the 
shedding  Christ's  blood  was  the  meritorious  cause  of 
justification, — seeing  it  was  shed  by  wicked  hands  1 
And  surely  had  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  obeyed,  and 
walked  in  that  holy  and  just  light  that  was  in  them,  they 
had  not  crucified  nor  murdered  the  Just  One,  the  Son  of 
God."  Christian  Quaker,  p.  350. 

"He  [Christ]  is  your  prophet,  to  open  to  you  the  ful- 
filling of  the  promises  and  prophecies,— himself  being 
the  substance  ;  that  ye  may  live  in  him,  and  he  in  you  ; 
yea,  and  reign  in  your  hearts  ;  thereto  exercise  his  office, — 
his  prophetical,  priestly,  and  kingly  office, — who  is 
heavenly  and  spiritual." 

George  Fox^s  Works,  vol.  2,  p.  263. 


143 


George  Whitehead  says,  that  "the  heavenly  and  more 
perfect  tabernacle,  altar,  sacrifices,  flesh,  water,  blood, — 
in  short,  the  New  Covenant  itself,  are  all  spiritual,  and 
to  the  natural  man,  mysterious." 


Article  XLIII.  And  have  Ave  not  reason  to  hope  that 
the  day  is  not  far  distant,  when  the  absurd  and  pernicious 
idea,  that  the  imputed  righteousness  of  another,  is  the 
ground  of  our  acceptance  with  God,  will  be  found  but 
in  the  pages  of  the  historian,  when  tracing  the  fruits  of 
that  lamented  apostacy  which  early  overtook  Christen- 
dom." Berean,  vol.  2,  p.  333. 

Is  the  ground  of  our  acceptance  with  God,  the 
righteousness  of  another  imputed  to  us  1 

"  We  shall  conclude,  then,  that  Christ,  the  Woi'd- 
God,  is  the  light  of  the  world,  and  that  all  are  enlightened 
by  him,  the  eternal  sun  of  righteousness :  therefore  the 
Light  of  men  is  Christ.  For  to  him,  Christ,  or  the  true 
Light,  John  testified,  who  gives  wicked  men  to  see  their 
unrighteousness,  and  who  leads  good  men  on  in  the  way 
of  holiness,  which,  persevered  in,  brings  unquestionably 
to  eternal  happiness  ;  and  without  which,  all  imputation 
of  general  acts  of  righteousness,  performed  by  Christ 
without  us,  will  avail  nothing  for  salvation,  m  the  great 
and  terrible  day  of  God's  inquest  and  judgment,  when 
all  shall  be  judged,— not  by  the  deeds  any  other  hath 
done  for  them  (wholly  without  them,)  hut  according  to 
the  deeds  done  in  their  own  immortal  bodies^ 

William  Penn's  Christian  Quaker,  p.  213. 

"Question.  Whetherabeliever  be  justified  by  Christ's 
righteousness  imputed,  yea,  or  nay  1" 


144 


"  Answer.  He  that  believeth  is  born  of  God ;  and  he 
that  is  born  of  God,  is  justified  by  Christ  alone,  with- 
OCT  IMPUTATION." — GeoTge  Fox,  Saul's  Errand  to  Damas- 
cus, Great  Mystery,  p.  595. 

"  Abraham  believed,  and  it  was  accounted  to  him  for 
righteousness;  and  Christ  come,  and  '  Christ  in  you,^  is 
the  end  of  the  belief,  who  is  the  justification  itself,  and 
righteousness  itself," — "  without  imputation, — the  right- 
eousness of  God  J — here  the  belief  ends." 

George  Fox,  Great  Mystery,  p.  370. 

"  For  as  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  are  the 
sons  of  God."  Rom.  viii.  14.  How  clearly  will  it  ap- 
pear to  any  but  a  cavilling  and  tenacious  spirit,  that 
man  can  be  no  further  justified,  than  as  he  becomes  obe- 
dient to  the  Spirit'' s  leadings. 

"  For,  if  none  can  be  a  son  of  God,  but  he  that's  led 
by  the  Spirit  of  God,  then  none  can  be  justified  without 
bein?  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God ;  because  none  can  be 
justified  but  he  that  is  a  son  of  God.  So  that  the  way 
to  justification  and  sonship  is  through  obedience  to  the 
Spirit's  leadings  ;  that  is,  manifesting  the  holy  fruits 
thereof  by  an  innocent  life  and  conversation." 

William  Penn's  Works,  vol.  1,  p.  261. 

"  The  imputation  to  a  believer  is  o^Tied  ;  and  this 
imputation  is  within  ;  for  he  that  believeth  is  born  of 
God,  and  hath  the  witness  in  himself.  Now  Abraham 
believed,  and  the  Romans  ;  and  to  such  the  imputation 
was  spoken  in  ike  belief:  and  Abraham  saw  his  glory, 
who  is  Christ  Jesus  the  righteousness  itself.  And  the 
apostle  says,  ye  are  now  nearer,  than  when  ye  believed. 
And  asfain  he  says,  '  Christ  is  in  you  and  God  will 
dwell  in  you,  and  walk  in  you.    So,  such  as  have  Christ 


145 


in  ihem,  they  have  the  righteousness  itself,  vnthout  impu- 
tation^— the  end  of  imputation, — the  righteousness  of 
God  itself,  Christ  Jesus,"  &c. 

Samuel  Fisher's  Works. 

"  He  that  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine,  and  doeth 
THEM,  I  will  liken  him  to  a  wise  man,"  &c. — Jesus 
Christ. 

"  Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me  Lord,  Lord,  shall 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  hut  he  that  doeth  the 
will  of  my  Father,"  &c. — Ibid. 

"He  that  justifieth  the  wicked,  and  he  that  con- 
demneth  tlie  just^  even  they  both  are  an  abomination  to 
the  Lord."  Prov.  xvii.  15.  "  It  would  very  opportunely 
be  observed,  that  if  it  is  so  great  an  abomination  in 
men  to  justify  the  wicked,  and  condemn  the  just, — how 
much  greater  would  it  be  in  God  \ — which  this  doctrine 
of  imputative  righteousness  necessarily  does  imply, — that 
so  far  disengages  God  from  the  person  justified,  as  that 
his  guilt  shall  not  condemn  him,  nor  his  innocency 
justify  him.  But  will  not  the  abomination  appear 
greatest  of  all,  when  God  shall  be  found  condemning  of 
the  just,  on  purpose  to  justify  the  wicked  ;  and  that  he 
is  thereto  compelled, — or  no  salvation  !  Which  is  the 
tendency  of  their  doctrine  who  imagine  the  righteous 
and  merciful  God  to  condemn  and  punish  his  innocent 
Son,  that  he  having  satisfied  for  our  sins,  we  might  be 
justified  (whilst  unsanctified)  by  the  imputation  of  his 
perfect  righteousness.  Oh!  why  should  this  horrible 
thing  be  contended  for  by  Christians!" — William  Penn^s 
Sandy  Foundation  Shaken,  Christian  Quaker,^.  89. 

Read  Ezekiel,  ch.  xviii.  20,  26,  27,  28,  29.  "  If  this 
was  once  equal,  it  is  still  so,  for  God  is  unchangeable  j 

13 


146 


and  therefore  I  shall  draw  this  argument,  that  the  con- 
demnation or  justification  of  persons,  is  not  from  the 
imputation  of  another's  righteousness,  but  the  actual  per- 
formance and  keeping  of  God's  righteous  statutes  or 
commandments;  otherwise  God  should  forget  to  be 
equal.  Therefore,  how  wickedly  unequal  are  those  who, 
not  from  Scripture  evidences,  but  their  own  dark  conjectures 
and  interpretations  of  obscure  passages,  would  frame  a 
doctrine  so  manifestly  inconsistent  with  God's  most 
pure  and  equal  nature;  making  him  to  condemn  the 
righteous  to  death,  and  justify  the  wicked  to  life,  from 
the  imputation  of  another's  righteousness !  A  most 
unequal  way  indeed  !"  Ibid. 

See  Exod.  xxiii.  7.  John  xv.  10-14.  Rom.  viii. 
13,14.  Gal.  vi.  4-7.  James  ii.  22-24.  1  John  iii. 
7,  8,  quoted  by  William  Penn.  "  By  which,"  he  con- 
tinues, "  we  7nust  not  conceive  as  do  the  dark  imputarians 
of  this  age,  that  Abraham's  offering,  personally,  was  not 
a  justifying  righteousness,  but  that  God  was  pleased  to 
account  it  so ;  since  God  never  accounts  a  thing  thai 
which  it  is  not.  Nor  was  there  any  imputation  of  another'' s 
righteousness  to  Abraham  ;  but  on  the  contrary,  his  per- 
sonal  obedience  was  the  ground  of  that  just  imputation. 
And  therefore,  that  any  should  be  justified  by  the  imputa- 
tion of  another's  righteousness,  is  both  ridiculous  and  dan- 
gerous." Ibid,  p.  88. 

The  same  author  says,  that  this  doctrine  places  "  God 
at  peace  with  the  wicked," — in  "communion  with  them 
here,"  and  "  to  all  eternity," — "  secures  from  the  wages, 
not  the  dominion  of  sin," — "rendersaman  justified  and 
condemned,  dead  and  alive,  redeemed  and  not  redeemed, 
at  the  same  time," — "  flatters  men,  while  subject  to  the 


147 


world's  lusts," — "  invalidates  the  very  end  of  Christ's 
appearance,  which  was  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil, 
and  take  away  the  sins  of  the  world."  "  I  therefore 
caution  thee,"  [reader]  says  he,  "  in  love,  of  whatever 
tribe  or  family  of  religion  thou  mayst  be,  not  longer  to 
deceive  thyself  by  the  over  fond  embraces  of  human  ap- 
prehensions, for  Divine  mysteries.  But  rather  be  in- 
formed, that  God  hath  bestowed  a  measure  of  his  grace 
on  thee  and  me,  to  show  us  what  is  good,  that  we  may 
OBEY  AND  DO  IT ;  whicli,  if  thou  diligently  wilt  observe, 
thou  shalt  be  led  out  of  all  unrighteousness  ;  and  in  thy 
obedience  shalt  thou  receive  power  to  become  a  son  of 
God.  In  which  happy  estate,  God  only  can  be  known  by 
men,  and  they  know  themselves  to  be  justified  before  him, 
whom  experimentally  to  know  by  Jesus  Christ,  is  life 
eternal."  Ibid,  p.  90. 

Job  Scott,  on  this  subject,  asks,  "  What  reconcilia- 
tion does  man  stand  in  need  of  1  What  has  separated 
him  from  God  1  Has  any  thing  but  sin  1  Will  God 
then  be  reconciled  to  him  again  in  sin  1  No,  verily : 
that  which  doth  let  and  separate,  will  for  ever  let  and 
separate,  till  it  be  removed  out  of  the  way.  '  It  is  re- 
moved,' these  imputarians  may  say,  '  by  Christ.'  I 
grant  it  is,  where  Christ  destroys  the  works  of  the  devil  in 
the  soul,  and  no  where  else.  How  is  it  removed,  where  it 
remains  1  This  is  as  gross  delusion,  and  as  rank  absur- 
dity, as  the  old  doctrine  of  transubstantiation." 

Vol.  2,  p.  315. 

The  destruction  of  sin  in  the  soul,  and  the  bringing  in 
of  everlasting  righteousness  into  the  soul,  is  the  work  of 
Christ,  and  not  our  own  work :  to  him  alone  belongs 


148 


the  praise.  This  imputation  of  the  righteousness  of 
Christ  within  us,  we  own  ;  but  the  doctrine  of  imputa- 
tion, as  commonly  held,  we  deny. 


Article  XLIV.  The  Declaration  proceeds  as  follows : 
"  Besides  the  palpable  errors  we  have  enumerated,  Elias 
Hicks  and  his  adherents  deny  that  mankind  sustain  any 
loss  through  the  fall  of  Adam  ;  asserting  that  childi-en  come 
into  the  world  precisely  in  the  condition  he  did." 

Dec.  p.  31. 

In  proof  of  the  above  assertions,  we  are  referred  to  The 
Quaker,  vol.  1,  p.  183,  and  Philadelphia  Sermon,  p.  64, 
from  whicli  I  quote  as  follows  : 

"  Now  let  us  pause  for  a  moment,  and  see  what  an  un- 
righteous and  wicked  act  it  was  in  our  first  parents  ;  there 
never  was  a  greater  evil  done.  And  we  see  now  that  we 
are  his  successors,  and  that  we  have  every  one  done  the 
same  thing ;  and  not  only  once,  as  Adam  did,  but  we  have 
done  it  many  thousand  times  over."  "  The  desire  after 
knowledge  was  the  thing  that  tempted  them,  by  presuming 
to  know  good  and  evil  widiout  the  Divine  Light  that  had 
been  given  to  instruct  them,  and  to  keep  them  from  going 
counter  to  the  Divine  command.  Tliey  were  pushed  on 
to  decide  for  themselves,  from  an  apprehension  that  by  so 
doing,  by  exercising  their  own  abilities,  they  would  be- 
come as  Gods,  knowing  good  and  evil  without  the  aid  of 
the  Divine  mind,  and  counter  to  the  Divine  command  ;  but 
their  reward  followed  the  act." 

Quaker,  vol.  1,  p.  182. 
"  Here,  we  don't  find  that  Adam  ever  transgressed  but 
once ;  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  from  the  history,  that 


149 


he  did.  I  consider  this  view  of  great  moment,  for  this 
reason  ;  because  people  are  so  weak  as  to  imagine,  (and 
where  do  they  get  the  idea  from,  but  from  the  same  source 
as  Adam,  by  seeking  to  gain  knowledge  through  an  impro- 
per medium  ?)  they  have  started  the  notion,  that  we  are  to 
stand  accountable  for  Adam's  sin  ;  and  that  we  are  losers 
by  it.  But  now,  if  we  reflect  rationally,  I  think  we  must 
be  gainers  by  it.  For  if  we  act  as  rational  creatures,  we 
gain  something  by  seeing  a  man  drunk ;  for  if  M^e  have 
never  seen  a  man  drunk  before,  is  it  not  an  example, — a 
warning  for  us  to  avoid  such  an  act  ourselves  ?  Here  we 
see  now,  what  the  apostle  says,  and  it  is  true,  that  '  The 
wisdom  of  the  world  is  foolishness  with  God;'  because, if 
we  reasoned  as  we  ought,  this  act  of  Adam  would  be  a 
warning  to  all  his  offspring,  and  would  certainly  be  a  benefit 
to  us,  if  we  acted  rightly.  This  is  my  view,  and  I  give  it 
to  you  to  examine."  Quaker,  p.  183. 

"  In  his  childhood,  he  [Jesus]  was  perfect  in  innocency, 
— free  from  all  kinds  of  defilement, — as  man  was  created 
in  the  beginning :  and  so  it  might  have  been  with  all  thai 
God  created,  as  the  Scripture  declaration  proves.  They 
[our  first  parents]  were  made  innocent,  undefiled,  and  un- 
polluted :  but  without  knowledge,  and  without  any  capa- 
city to  obtain  knowledge  througli  any  other  medium  than 
their  Creator.  They  were  endowed  Avith  a  capacity  to 
receive  it  from  him,  as  a  Teacher ;  but  no  capacity  to 
obtain  true  knowledge  independently  of  their  Creator. 
This  I  consider  to  be  the  state  of  man  in  the  beginning,  and 
of  every  child  when  born  into  the  world." 

Philada.  Sermon,  p.  66. 

In  the  above  extracts,  relating  to  the  state  of  our  first 
parents,  there  are  some  views  peculiar  to  Elias  Hicks  ;  and 
therefore  not  chargeable  on  the  Society. 

13* 


150 


The  brevity  of  the  scriptural  account  of  the  original  state 
of  our  first  parents,  has  opened  a  field  for  much  specula- 
tion, and  a  diversity  of  opinions  have  been  advanced  by 
those  who  have  written  on  the  subject :  and  Elias  Hicks 
has  given  his  views  for  consideration.  In  alluding  to  them, 
the  "  Declaration  "  has  used  a  form  of  expression  which 
gives  them  an  appearance  of  more  weight,  as  a  charge,  than 
simply  quoting  the  speaker's  words  would  have  done  ; 
whilst  a  part  of  the  context  which  is  highly  important  to 
be  known,  in  order  to  do  justice  to  his  whole  view  of  the 
subject,  is  withheld.  T\\e  present  condition  oi  man,  and 
what  is  needful  for  him,  is  what  chiefly  concerns  us.  To 
this  condition  the  Sermon  speaks  in  the  emphatic  language 
of  Scripture,  "  All  have  sinned,  and  fallen  short  of  the  glory 
of  God,"  and  stand  in  need  of  being  born  again. 

The  Society  holds  to  the  clear  testimony  of  Ezekiel  the 
prophet,  and  in  other  parts  of  Scripture,  That  no  man  is 
answerable  for  the  sins  of  another  ;  and  hence,  that  none 
of  Adam's  posterity  are  accountable  for  his  transgression ; 
or  in  other  words,  we  deny  the  doctrine  of  original  sin. 
Joseph  Phipps,  on  this  subject,  says,  "  To  account  a  child 
guilty  or  obnoxious  to  punishment,  merely  for  an  offence 
committed  by  its  parents  before  it  could  have  any  con- 
sciousness of  being,  is  inconsistent  both  with  justice  and 
mercy ;  therefore  no  infant  can  be  born  with  guilt  upon  its 
head."  Original  and  present  state  of  Man,  p.  12. 

In  continuation  of  the  subject  in  the  Sermons,  and  in  the 
next  page  to  that  from  which  the  Declaration  quotes,  and 
directly  facing  it,  we  find  the  following :  "  As  man  was 
made  in  the  image  of  God,  every  act  would  be  a  righteous 
act.  But  from  this  happy  state  man  fell ;  from  this  blessed 
condition,  we  all  fall  :  for  all  have  sinned,  and  fallen 


151 


short  of  the  glory  of  God  ;  and  therefore  stand  in  need 
of  being  born  again."  Ibid,  p.  67. 

The  desires  of  every  infant  prompt  it  to  the  indulgence 
of  the  animal  appetites,  for  the  support  of  the  natural  life : 
and  althougli  tliis  indulgence  may  be  in  excess,  it  incurs  no 
guilt,  until  it  grows  to  the  years  of  religious  understanding, 
or  until  the  command  is  given,  "  Thou  slialt  not  eat." 
From  this  moment,  every  human  being  stands  before  his 
Creator  as  a  probationer.  For,  witli  the  promulgation  of 
the  law,  tliere  is  a  capacity  furnished  to  obey  it,  and  a 
consciousness  felt,  on  the  part  of  the  subject,  of  his  free 
agency,  as  clearly  as  if  it  was  announced  to  his  outward 
ear,  "  Choose  ye  this  day  whom  ye  will  serve."  (Josh, 
xxiv.  15.)  Taking  up  the  present  condition  of  man  from 
this  point,  is  there  not  a  striking  analogy  between  his  con- 
dition and  that  of  our  first  parents  ?  And  is  not  our  own 
experience  a  confirmation  of  their  history,  as  given  by 
Moses  ?  "  And  when  the  woman  saw  that  the  tree  was 
good  for  food,  and  that  it  was  pleasant  to  the  eyes,  and  a 
tree  to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise,  [or  happy,]  she  took 
of  the  fruit  thereof  and  did  eat,  and  gave  also  unto  her  hus- 
band with  her,  and  he  did  eat."    Gen.  iii. 

It  would  appear  by  this  account,  that  our  progenitors  had 
desires  and  propensities  conflicting  with  their  Maker's 
command,  as  we  now  have  them,  and  that  they  were  frail, 
like  ourselves;  for  they  yielded,  as  it  appears,  to  the  first 
temptation.  Hence,  it  is  reasonable  to  conclude,  that  in 
knowledge  and  experience,  they  were  not  far  in  advance  of 
us.  Yet  they  may  be  said  to  have  been  petfed :  for  a 
state  of  entire  innocence,  and  an  obedience  to  what  is  made 
known  to  us,  however  small  that  knowledge  may  be,  is 
human  perfection.  "  And  they  brought  young  children  to 
him,  that  he  should  touch  them  :  and  his  disciples  rebuked 


152 


them  that  brought  them.  But  when  Jesus  saw  it,  he  was 
much  displeased,  and  said  unto  them,  '  Suffer  httle  children 
10  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is  the 
kingdom  of  God.'  And  he  took  them  up  in  his  arms,  put 
his  hands  upon  them,  and  blessed  them."  Mark  x.  13-16. 

Our  first  parents  had  God  for  their  Teacher  and  Monitor, 
with  no  corrupting  examples  present  to  allure  them  from 
the  path  of  duty.  Now,  if  to  these  advantages  be  added 
that  perfection  in  knowledge  and  acquirements  which  is 
ascribed  to  them,  is  it  reasonable  to  suppose  tliat  they 
would  have  so  easily  given  way  to  temptation  ?  Granting 
the  premises,  they  must  have  been  more  frail  than  their 
posterity. 


Article  XLV,  "  They  [that  is,  Elias  Hicks,]  also 
deny  the  existence  of  any  evil  spirit,  by  which  man  i.s 
tempted,  distinct  from  his  own  propensities," 

Philada.  Sermons,  pp.  163,  166,  257,  258. 

In  page  293,  of  the  Philadelphia  Sermons,  we  read, 
"  Faith  is  the  gift  of  God,  But  this  faith  in  creeds  and  the 
traditions  of  our  fathers,  what  is  it  ?  It  is  worse  than  no- 
thing. We  had  better  have  no  faith  at  all.  It  is  no  better 
than  the  faith  of  devils,'  '  Thou  believest  that  there  is  one 
God  ;  thou  doest  well :  the  devils  also  believe  and  tremble.' 
Who  are  the  devils  ?  Apostate  men  and  women,  who  go 
contrary  to  God  :  they  are  all  devils.  Every  thing  that  is 
in  opposition  to  the  will  of  God,  is  a  davil.  In  short,  they 
are  nothing  but  what  opposes  the  law  of  light  and  the  Spirit 
of  truth  in  the  heart ;  nothing  but  what  is  in  opposition  to 
the  law  of  God  :  and  that  devil  is  in  us  all :  as  sure  as  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  in  us,  so  sure  the  devil  is  in  us." 


153 


And  in  page  163 — "  Now  all  that  seeking  to  know  God, 
and  this  devil,  or  the  serpent,  without,  is  the  work  of  dark- 
ness, superstition,  and  tradition.  It  hath  no  foundation  ;  it 
is  all  breath  and  wind,  witliout  the  power.  We  need  not 
look  without  for  enemies,  or  friends  ;  for  we  shall  not  find 
them  without.  Our  enemies  are  those  of  our  own  house- 
hold :  our  own  propensities  and  unruly  desires  are  our 
greatest,  and  I  may  almost  say,  our  alone  enemies." 

Had  the  authors  of  the  Declaration,  instead  of  cavilling 
at  this  doctrine,  watched  against  tliis  adversary  within,  I 
believe  no  cause  would  have  existed  for  this  Exposition. 

"  Now  the  serpent,"  says  Francis  Howgill,  "  was  more 
subtile  than  all  the  beasts  of  the  field ;  for  that  was  his 
nature,  in  which  he  was  created  ;  and  it  was  good  in  the 
motion  of  the  power :  and  therefore  Christ  said,  '  Be  ye 
wise  as  serpents,  and  harmless  as  doves.'  And  though  the 
serpent  was  wise  and  subtile,  more  than  all  the  beasts  of 
the  field,  till  lie  acted  and  moved  without  commandment, 
and  out  of  the  motion  of  the  power,  he  was  not  cursed.  He 
that  can  receive  this,  let  him."  "  And  now  he  went  and 
talked  with  the  woman,  and  she  was  good  before,  being  in 
the  motion  of  the  life  and  power :  she  also  looked  out,  and 
not  in  the  power,  and  reasoned  with  him  out  of  the  power, 
contrary  to  commandment ;"  "  and  here  was  the  beginning 
of  the  father  of  lies,  and  of  him  who  spoke  of  himself,  out 
of  the  power,  and  out  of  the  truth;  and  his  beginning  is 
without  foundation  ;  [that  is,  independent  or  distinct  from 
man.]  Now  he  that  is  wise  in  heart,  read  his  genvraiion, 
or  who  made  him.  Now  appeared  the  angel  of  the  bottom- 
less pit,  and  nut  before, — and  made  war  against  the  power, 
— against  the  Lamb."    pp.  185,  186. 


154 


All  our  propensities  and  desires  are  good,  "  in  the  mo- 
tion of  the  power ;"  and  whilst  we  remain  here,  moving 
and  acting  in  and  under  this  heavenly  power,  tlie  serpent 
has  no  "  foundation  "  in  us.  "  The  prince  of  this  world 
Cometh,  and  hath  nothing  in  me."  John  xiv.  30.  "From 
whence  come  wars  and  fightings  among  you  ?  Come  they 
not  hence,  even  of  your  lusts,  that  war  in  your  mem- 
bers V  ("  The  spirit  that  dwelleth  in  us  lusteth  to  envy.") 
"  Ye  lust,  and  have  not :  ye  kill,  and  desire  to  have,  and 
cannot  obtain :  ye  fight,  and  war,  yet  ye  have  not,  because 
ye  ask  not.  Ye  ask,  and  receive  not,  because  ye  ask 
amiss,  that  ye  may  consume  it  upon  your  lusts.  Ye 
adulterers  and  adulteresses,  know  ye  not  that  the  friendship 
of  the  world  is  enmity  with  God  ?  Whosoever,  therefore, 
will  be  a  friend  of  the  world,  is  the  enemy  of  God.  Do 
you  think  that  die  Scripture  saith  in  vain,  '  The  spii'it  that 
dwelleth  in  us  lusteth  to  envy  V  "    James  iv. 

According  to  Francis  Howgill,  the  "  angel  of  the  bottom- 
less pit,"  had  his  beginning  in  man's  disobedience  ;  and 
out  of  man,  he  is  without  foundation  ;  and  they  who 
are  wise,  may  read  his  generation,  and  who  made  and 
makes  him,' — intheir  own  hearts. 

The  Declaration  objects  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Christ 
within,  and  the  adversary  within,  whilst  it  furnishes  no 
litde  evidence  to  us,  that  loss  may  be  sustained,  in  the 
practical  part  of  religion,  by  having  our  views  too  much 
outward  on  these  and  other  subjects. 


Article  XLVI.  "  Heaven,"  they  say,  "  is  a  state,  and 
not  a  place,  by  any  means." 


155 


The  blessed  Jesus  tauglit  the  same  doctrine.  "  The 
kingdom  of  God  cometli  not  with  observation;  neither 
shall  tliey  say,  Lo,  here !  or  Lo,  there  !  for  behold  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  within  you."    Luke  xvii.  20. 

The  apostle  speaks  of  it  as  a  "  state."  "  For  the  king- 
dom of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink  ;  but  righteousness, 
pence,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost."    Rom.  xiv.  7. 

"  This  kingdom,"  says  Joseph  Phipps,  "stands  not  in 
locality,  not  in  any  here,  or  there.  It  stands  in  an  infinite 
and  heavenly  spirit,  life,  and  nature,  wherein  nothing  im- 
pure can  live,  or  enter."    p.  208. 


Alticle  XLVII.  "Belief,"  with  them,  "is  no  virtue; 
and  unbelief  no  crime." 

This,  as  quoted  from  Elias  Hicks's  sermon,  without  the 
context,  amounts  to  a  perversion  of  the  speaker's  meaning. 
Here  follows  the  whole  paragraph,  whicli  furnishes  a  satis- 
factory explanation. 

"And  when  we  come  to  fliis  principle, — this  gift  of 
grace,  this  Light,  there  is  no  necessity  for  us  to  be  careful 
about  what  we  will  believe,  and  what  we  won't  believe  ; 
because  nothing  can  give  vs  a  true  belief  but  this  Light. 
It  will  give  every  one  of  the  children  of  men,  a  belief  suffi- 
cient to  induce  them  to  enter  on  the  work  of  salvation 
aright.  For,  as  this  is  the  medium,  and  the  only  one,  by 
which  God  continues  with  his  rational  creatures,  there  is 
no  other  way  by  which  he  gives  them  an  evidence  of  what 
is  right,  and  what  is  wrong ;  for  he  has  set  good  and  evil 
before  us  all,  and  left  it  for  us  to  choose.  '  Choose  you 
this  day  whom  you  will  serve.'    Here,  as  you  come  to 


156 


this,  you  need  not  trouble  yourselves,  or  recommend  to 
your  friends,  what  they  must  believe  ;  that  they  must 
believe  this  or  that ;  it  is  all  nonsense  ;  because  a  man 
cannot  believe  just  what  he  wants  to  believe.  He  cannot 
believe  any  thing  but  what  the  Divine  Light  gives  him 
an  evidence  of;  and  and  this  he  must  believe ;  and  he  can- 
not resist  it.  Here,  then,  we  discover,  that  \beUef  is  no 
virtue,  and  unbelief  no  crimef\  because  v.hy  1  It  is  an 
involuntary  thing  to  man.  But  when  the  soul  is  willing 
to  be  instructed  by  the  grace  of  God,  it  v:\\\he  instructed  } 
and  when  it  is  instructed,  it  will  have  an  evidence  of 
the  truth,  and  it  cannot  resist  it ;  it  is  bound  and /orced 
to  believe  it ;  not  from  anj^  compulsory  measure,  but 
from  the  clear  force  of  the  thing,  because  it  is  self-evi- 
dent." Quaker,  vol.  1,  pp.  145,  146. 

In  the  third  volume  of  The  Quaker,  page  94,  we  find  a 
further  explanation  of  this  matter.  "  For  there  is  no  man 
or  woman"  says  Elias  Hicks,  "  that  has  ever 'done  an  act 
of  sin,  but  they  have  been  reproved  for  it.  This  reprover, 
you  know,  was  declared  by  Jesus  to  be  the  Comforter,  the 
Saviour,  the  Deliverer  of  mankind  from  sin.  He  declared 
that  he,  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  when  he  should  come,  would 
'  reprove  the  world  of  sin.'  And  I  know  that  you,  my 
fellow-creatures,  have  known  this  witness,  and  have  been 
reproved  for  sin  ;  and  you  are  obliged  to  believe  this  evi- 
dence, because  you  know  it  is  your  situation  :  and  from  this 
evidence,  you  never  can  extricate  yourselves .  and  hence,  it 
is  not  a  voluntary  act  of  the  mind  to  believe.  Then  here 
we  discover  that  our  belief  or  unbelief,  merely  as  men  and 
creatures,  is  of  no  account ;  for  what  we  have  not  evidence 
of,  we  cannot  believe  ;  and  therefore  unbelief  in  respect  to 
that  which  we  have  no  evidence  of,  is  no  sin.  But  if  we 
continue  in  those  things  which  we  have  evidence  are 
wrong,  and  have  been  reproved  for,  this  is  sin.'' 


157 


Although,  in  one  respect,  a  deviation  from  the  plan 
pursued  in  respect  to  testimony,  I  will  here  insert  the  re- 
marks of  Cliillingworth  on  the  subject  of  belief.  In  answer 
to  a  zealous  Romanist,  he  says,  "  Have  you  such  power 
over  your  own  understanding,  that  you  can  believe  what 
you  please,  though  you  see  no  7-eason?  Or,  that  you  can 
suspend  your  belief,  when  you  see  reason  ?  If  you  have, 
I  pray  you,  for  old  friendship's  sake,  teach  me  this  trick  : 
and  until  I  have  learned  it,  I  pray  blame  me  not  for  going 
the  ordinary  way ;  I  mean  for  believing,  or  not  believing, 
as  I  see  reason.  If  you  can  convince  me  of  wilful  opposi- 
tion against  the  known  truth, — of  negligence  in  seeking  it, 
—or  unwillingness  to  find  it, — of  preferring  temporal  re- 
spects before  it, — or  of  any  other  fault  that  it  is  in  my 
power  to  amend, — that  is  indeed  2.  fault"  <fec. 

Works,  p.  526. 


Article  XLVIII.  "  Elias  Hicks  says,  "  In  those  things 
which  relate  to  our  moral  conduct,  we  all  have  understand- 
ings alike,  as  reasonable  beings  ;  and  we  know  when  we 
do  wrong  to  our  fellow-creatures  ;  we  know  it  hy  our  ra- 
tional understanding  ;  we  want  no  other  inspiration 
THAN  REASON  AND  JUSTICE."  Again:  "If  we  transgress 
against  God,  or  even  against  our  fellow-creatures,  the  act 
hath  its  adequate  reward,  and  it  will  make  us  sorry  for 
what  we  have  done ;  that  is,  we  shall  be  losers,  and  gain 
nothing  ;  for  no  man  shall  gain  by  doing  evil." 

Quaker,  vol.  2,  pp.  258-9.    Decl.  p.  31. 

The  unprejudiced  reader  will,  I  think,  be  apt  to  ask, 
Where  lies  the  criminality  of  the  sentiments  contained  in 
the  above  extract  ? 

14 


158 


The  Declaration  makes  the  following  comment:  "As 
regards  morality,  they  want  no  other  revelation  than  reason 
and  justice  :  and  when  we  transgress  against  God,  the  act 
will  make  us  sorry  for  what  we  have  done  ;  that  is,  we 
siiall  be  losers,  and  gain  nothing." 

The  first  part  of  the  discourse  from  which  this  extract  is 
taken,  and  where  it  is  found,  treats  upon  moral  conduct, 
the  injury  of  others,  by  giving  way  to  a  spirit  of  calumny, 
hatred,  revenge,  <fcc.  And  the  speaker  tells  us  what  we  all 
know  to  be  true,  that  reason  [that  is,  right  reason]  and  that 
abiding  sense  of  justice,  placed  in  the  breast  of  every  man, 
suffice  to  convict  us  of  wrong,  when  we  injure  our  neigh- 
hour. 

The  blessed  Jesus  wanted  "  no  other  inspiration  than 
reason  and  justice  "  to  convict  the  high  professing  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  of  their  enmity  and  injustice  towaids  him. 
"  And  the  ruler  of  tiie  synagogue  answered  with  indigna- 
tion, because  that  Jesus  had  healed  on  the  Sabbath  day, 
and  said  unto  the  people,  '  There  are  six  days  in  wliich 
men  ought  to  work  :  in  them  therefore  come  and  be  healed, 
and  not  on  the  Sabbath  day.'  Tlie  Lord  then  answered 
him  and  said,  '  Thou  hypocrite  !  Doth  not  each  one  of 
you,  on  the  Sabbath,  loose  his  ox  or  his  ass  from  the  stall, 
and  lead  him  away  to  watering  ?  And  ought  not  this 
woman,  being  a  daughter  of  Abraham,  whom  satan  hath 
bound,  lo  !  these  eighteen  years,  be  loosed  from  this  bond 
on  the  Sabbath  day  ?  And  when  he  had  said  these  things, 
all  his  adversaries  were  as/ia?«ec/."  Luke  xiii.  14, 15,  16, 17. 

And  in  the  case  of  the  woman  taken  in  adultery,  they 
said  to  him,  "  Now  Moses,  in  the  law,  commanded  us  that 
such  should  be  stoned,  but  what  sayest  thou  ?  This  they 
said,  tempting  him,  that  they  might  have  to  accuse  him." 
'  So  when  they  continued  asking  him,  he  lifted  up  himself 


159 


and  said  unto  them,  He  that  is  without  sin  among  you,  let 
him  first  cast  a  stone  at  her.  And  they  which  heard  it, 
being  convicted  by  their  own  conscience,  went  out  one  by 
one,  beginning  at  the  elders,  even  unto  the  last,"  <fec.  John 
viii.  5  &LC. 

The  authors  of  the  Declaration  make  the  few  words 
which  they  quote,  the  ground  of  a  charge  against  the 
speaker,  of  inconsistency,  or  of  exalting  reason  at  the 
expense  of  revelation, — than  which,  nothing  can  be 
more  unjust ;  as  the  general  tenor  of  this  and  other  dis- 
courses of  Elias  Hicks  plainly  shows — to  which  werefer 
the  reader,  after  giving  the  following  quotations. 

In  page  261,  he  says,  "So  that  here,  all  our  happi- 
ness in  time  and  eternity,  depends  on  inwar J  knowledge 
and  right  information,  which  we  receive  by  communion 
with  our  heavenly  Father^ 

And  in  page  262  :  "  Revelation  is  the  first  thing  ; 
the  first  as  it  regards  earthly  things  :  and  so  it  is  with 
the  revelation  of  God,  who  is  the  Sun  of  heaven.  God 
is  the  Sun  of  the  spiritual  world ;  and  the  Light  and 
Life  of  that  Sun  show  his  will  to  us  with  the  same 
plainness  that  the  outward  sun  shows  outward  things, 
when  our  eye  is  single  to  Him,  and  when  we  look 
within,  and  keep  withiri ;  for  it  is  there  that  he  makes 
himself  manifest  to  us  fully,  although  it  be  in  the  least 
degree:  for  having  first  convinced  us  what  is  right  for 
us  to  do,  the  moment  we  transgress,  we  feel  it,  beyond 
any  thing  that  the  light  of  the  outward  sun  can  do  for 
us.  And  we  never  can  get  away  from  this  sense,  how- 
ever wicked  a  man  or  woman  may  be  ;  and  however 
they  may  endeavour  to  shelter  themselves  under  earthly 
things  and  delights,  and  as  it  were  for  a  time  drown  the 
reprover's  voice,  and  silence,  as  it  were,  or  slay  the  two 


160 


witnesses  for  God  in  the  soul.  And  what  are  these  two 
witnesses  1  They  are  revelation  and  reason  in  the  souls 
of  men."  See  also  Berean,  vol.  3,  p.  366. 


Article  XLIX.  "If  we  transgress  against  God,  or 
even  against  our  fellow-creatures,  the  act  hath  its 
adequate  reward,  and  it  will  make  us  sorry  for  what  we 
have  done,"  &c. 

In  this  extract  there  is  a  figure  of  speech,  which  is 
frequently  used  in  Scripture  and  in  common  parlance  ; 
that  is,  to  speak  of  the  right  and  wrong  acts  that  we  do, 
as  rewarding  or  reproving  us,  as  the  case  may  be  ;  when 
we  mean  the  Divine  Monitor,  within  us.  Thus  it  is 
said,  "  I  have  done  an  act  that  gives  me  pain,  or  that 
gives  me  peace  and  satisfaction  ;  or  an  act  that  makes 
me  sorry  and  uneasy,"  &c.  "  What  hast  thou  done  that 
disquiets  thee  1  or  that  affords  thee  so  much  satisfac- 
tion or  pleasure!"  These  are  common  expressions 
which  no  one  misunderstands. 

This  figure  of  speech  is  called  "metonj'my,"  by 
which  one  word  is  put  for  another,  or  the  cause  for  the 
effect,  and  \s  usual  in  all  sorts  of  authors.  (Dictionary.) 
Thus,  the  apostle :  "  Every  transgression  and  disobe- 
dience [receiveth]  a  just  recompense  of  reward."  Heb. 
ii.  2.  And  in  like  manner  the  prophet  says,  "  Thine 
own  wickedness  shall  correct  thee,  and  thy  backslid- 
ings  shall  reprove  thee."    Jer.  ii.  19. 

Here,  the  words  "  transgression  and  disobedience," 
are  used  for  the  person  by  the  apostle ;  and  "  wicked- 
ness," &c.,  by  the  prophet,  instead  of  the  Divine  Moni- 
tor. So  the  "  Sermon  "  uses  the  word  "  act  "  for  the 
person,  and  the  pronoun  "  it,"  for  the  Divine  Monitor. 


161 


Article  L.  "  He  [the  Almighty]  has  set  good  and 
evil  before  us,  and  left  us  to  elect  for  ourselves." 

Quaker^  vol.  2,  p.  259. 

No  candid  reader  would  put  the  construction  on  the 
word  ^^lefi"  which  the  Declaration  appears  here  to 
have  given  to  it ;  and  which  I  understand  to  be,  that  in 
leaving  us  to  choose  for  ourselves,  the  Father  of  mercies 
deserts  us  ! ! 

"  And  if  it  seem  evil  unto  you  to  serve  the  Lord, 
choose  you  this  day  whom  ye  will  serve ;  whether  the 
gods  which  your  fathers  served,  or  the  gods  of  the 
Amorites,"  &c.  Josh.  xxiv.  15.  Here,  Joshua /e/)t</tm 
to  choose  for  themselves. 

"  And  Elijah  said.  If  the  Lord  be  God,  follow  him  ; 
but  if  Baal,  then  follow  him."    1  Kings  xviii.  21. 

In  both  cases,  the  plain  meaning  is,  that  the  will  was 
free,  and  a  choice  was  "  left "  them,  or  given  them  ;  or 
they  had  the  power  or  privilege  of  choosing  for  them- 
selves. 


Such  then,  is  the  conclusion  of  the  catalogue  of  spuri- 
ous charges  laid  against  the  Society  of  Friends  ;  a  con- 
clusion which  illustrates  the  character  of  the  whole,  and 
affords  a  clear  evidence  that  the  kind  of  criticism  here 
resorted  to,  is  the  unsavoury  fruit  of  a  spirit,  the  re- 
verse of  that  which  is  "  kind,"  and  "  thinketh  no  evil." 


162 


REMARKS  ON  WHAT  IS  CALLED  THE  HYPOSTATICAL 
UNION;  AND  ON  THE  TRINITY. 

In  order  that  the  ground  of  certain  charges  made 
against  the  Sermons  and  the  Society  of  Friends  in  the 
Declaration,  may  be  understood,  I  will  here  take  some 
further  notice  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Hypostatical  Union, 
and  the  TriniUj  (as  held  by  the  Calvinists  and  other 
sects,)  so  far  as  to  show  what  they  are,  and  that  they 
have  never  been  received  by  the  Society  of  Friends. 

The  following  account  of  the  first  of  these  tenets, 
I  take  from  "  Lectures  in  Divinity,  by  the  late  George 
Hill,  D.  D." 

The  author  quotes  these  texts.  John  i.  14  :  "  And 
the  Word  was  made  flesh,"  &c.  Phil.  ii.  6,  7,  8  : 
"  Who  being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it  not  robbery 
to  be  equal  with  God ;  but  made  himself  of  no  reputa- 
tion, and  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was 
made  in  the  likeness  of  man  :  and  being  found  in  fashion 
as  a  man,  he  humbled  himself,  and  became  obedient 
unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross."  Heb.  ii.  14,  16  : 
"  For  as  much  then  as  the  children  are  partakers  of 
flesh  and  blood,  he  also  himself  likewise  partook  of  the 
same  :  that  through  death  he  might  destroy  him  that 
had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil.  For  verily 
he  took  not  on  him  the  nature  of  angels  ;  but  he  took  on 
him  the  seed  of  Abraham." 

"  The  review  of  these  three  passages,"  says  the  au- 
thor, "  suggests  the  wJvole  of  the  argument  uipon  this  sub- 


163 


ject,  which  may  be  thus  stated  in  a  few  words.  The 
names,  the  characters,  the  actions,  and  the  honours  of 
God,  are  ascribed  to  Jesus  Christ:  the  affections,  the 
infirmities,  and  the  sufl'erings  of  man,  are  also  ascribed 
to  Jesus  Christ.  Tlierefore,  in  him  the  divine  and 
human  nature  were  united,  or  the  same  person  is  both 
God  and  man  — "the  union  of  two  distinct  natures, 
each  of  which  is  entire,  and  wliich  union  took  place  at 
the  conception," — "  yet  nothing  peculiar  to  the  divine 
nature  was  communicated  to  the  human,  or  vice  versa  ; 
for  it  is  impossible  that  the  Deity  can  share  in  the 
weakness  of  humanity,  and  it  is  impossible  that  humanity 
could  be  exalted  to  a  participation  of  any  of  the  essential 
perfections  of  the  Godhead.  Although,  therefore,  the 
Word  fills  heaven  and  earth,  because  by  him  all  things 
consist,  yet,  as  it  is  of  the  very  nature  of  body  to  occupy 
a  certain  portion  of  space, — the  body  of  Christ,  without 
losing  that  nature  from  which  it  derives  its  name,  cannot 
by  union  with  the  WoTd,hecomeomnipi'esent,hnt  during 
our  Lord's  ministry,  U'as  upon  earth;  forty  days  after 
his  resurrection  ascended,  i.  e.  was  transferred  by  a 
local  motion  from  earth  to  heaven,  and  is  now  in  heaven." 

We  are  further  told,  that  "  Christ,  in  the  work  of 
mediation,  acted  according  to  both  natures,  by  each  na- 
ture doing  that  which  is  proper  to  itself ;  that  the  two 
natures  or  persons  are  so  distinct  and  incommunicable, 
that  the  human  is  limited  in  knowledge,  whilst  the 
divine  knoweth  all  things ;"  as  in  Mark  xiii.  32 ;  that 
the  human  person,  or  nature,  admitted  of  a  recompense, 
and  was  "  exalted,"  whilst  the  divine  was  susceptible 
of  neither  :  that  by  this  "  union  of  two  natures,  Christ 
is  qualified  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world  ;" — that  "the 
merit  of  our  Lord's  obedience,  and  the  efficacy  of  his 


164 


interposition,  depend  upon  the  hypostatical  union  ;  aad 
that  it  is  the  corner  stone  o{  our  religion."  Page  495,  &c. 

The  same  author  quotes  the  following  argument 
against  the  doctrine :  "  You  say  that  Jesus  Christ,  who 
suffered  for  the  sins  of  men,  is  both  God  and  man. 
You  must  either  say  that  God  suffered,  or  that  he  did 
not  suffer.  If  you  say  that  God  suffered,  you  do  indeed 
affix  an  infinite  value  to  the  sufferings,  but  you  affirm 
that  the  Godhead  is  capable  of  suffering  ;  which  is  both 
impious  and  absurd.  If  you  say  that  God  did  not  suffer, 
then,  although  the  person  that  suffered  had  both  a  divine 
and  human  nature,  the  sufferings  were  merely  those  of  a 
man :  for,  according  to  your  own  system,  the  two  na- 
tures are  distinct,  and  the  divine  is  impassible." 

"  In  answer  to  this  method  of  arguing,"  continues 
the  author,  "  we  admit  that  the  Godhead  cannot  suffer, 
and  we  do  not  pretend  to  explain  the  kind  of  support  which 
the  human  nature  derived,  under  its  sufferings,  from  the 
divine,  or  the  manner  in  which  the  two  were  united.''^ 

Ibid,  p.  518. 

Such  is  the  hypostatical  union  a  doctrine  alleged  to 
be  founded  on  certain  obscure  passages  in  the  New 
Testament,  which  (say  its  advocates)  cannot  be  other- 
wise explained  ;  yet  resulting  in  conclusions  which  they 
acknowledge  wholly  inexplicable  to  themselves.  Stand- 
ing as  it  does,  in  direct  opposition  to  numerous  clear 
testimonies  of  Scripture,  as  well  as  to  the  simplest  prin- 
ciples of  reason,  there  is  perhaps  no  hypothesis  in  theo- 
logy, dark  as  much  of  it  is,  that  more  clearly  demon- 
strates the  truth  of  the  apostolic  testimony,  that  "  the 
things  of  God  knoweth  no  man,  but  by  the  Spirit  of  God." 

"Man's  going  to  hammer  out  principles,  without  the 
infallible  guide  and  rule  of  the  Spirit,  hath  been  the 


165 


cause  of  that  great  confusion  that  is  over  mankind 
about  religion." 

William  Penn,  Christian  Quaker,  p.  239. 

But  my  object  in  thus  bringing  forward  this  doctrine, 
is  not  so  much  to  examine  its  merits,  as  to  state  what  it 
is,  and  to  prove  that  the  people  called  Quakers  have 
never  adopted,  nor  owned  it.  The  reader  will  find 
abundant  evidence  of  this  in  the  quotations  which  I  have 
made  from  their  writings.  I  will  here  present  a  few  of 
them  by  way  of  answer  to  this  question  :  Are  there 
two  distinct  "  natures,"  or  "  persons,"  united  in  Christ, — 
the  human  and  Divine,  bi/  which  union  only,  he  is  con- 
stituted the  Saviour  of  men  1 

Answer  :  "  Now  the  Scriptures  do  expressly  distin- 
guish between  Christ,  and  the  garment  which  he  wore  ; 
between  him  that  came  and  the  body  in  which  became," 
&c.  "  This  we  certainly  know,  and  can  never  call  the 
bodily  garment  Christ,  but  that  which  appeared  and 
dwelt  in  the  body.  For  Christ  is  the  Son  of  the  Father  : 
he  is  the  infinite,  eternal  Being, — one  with  the  Father, 
and  with  the  Spirit,  and  cannot  be  divided  from  either." 

Isaac  Pennington. 

"  If  he  [an  opponent]  mean  by  the  man  Christ  Jesus, 
— the  second  Adam,  the  quickening  Spirit, — the  heaven- 
ly man, — ^the  Lord  from  heaven, — he  who  is  one  with 
the  Father, — the  Word  which  was  in  the  beginning, 
who  created  all  things, — I  grant  him  to  be  the  Redeemer. 
But  if  he  distinguish  Christ  from  this  Word  and  Spirit, 
and  make  the  man's  nature,  the  Saviour,  and  the  God- 
head only  assistant  to  him,  (as  he  seemed  to  word  it 
before,  and  as  these  words  seem  to  imply,)  that  I 
UTTERLY  DENY.  For  SO  testifieth  the  Scripture,  '  I  am 
the  Lord,  and  beside  me  there  is  no  Saviour.'  '  I  am  a 
just  God  and  a  Saviour,'  &c.    So  that  Christ  is  the 


166 


Saviour,  as  he  is  one  with  God.  And  so  lie  is  7iot  a  foun- 
dation, or  the  corner  stone,  distinct  from  God.  It  is  the 
Si'iBiT,  the  LIKE,  which  was  revealed  in  that  man  (by 
which  he  did  his  Father's  will,)  which  was  and  is  the 
foundation,"  &c.  Ibid. 

"  Now,  friends,  if  ye  will  know  aright,  or  believe 
aright,  ye  must  know  and  believe  in  him  who  was  with 
the  Father,  before  the  world  was,^ — who  was  the  Saviour, 
— the  Jesus, — the  Christ,  y7-07/i  everlasting.  This  taking 
up  a  body,  made  no  alteration  in  him,  added  nothing 
to  him  :  only  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  take  it  up 
to  fulfil  the  will  in  it,  and  to  ofi'er  it  up  a  sacrifice,  in 
his  own  life  and  spirit,  to  the  Father.  This  we  firmly 
believe  :  and  this  also  we  cannot  but  say  further,  that 
the  virtue, — the  value, — the  worth, — the  excellency  of 
what  was  done  by  him  in  the  body,  was  not  of  the  body  ; 
but  it  was  in  him  before  time, — in  time,  and  will  be  after 
time,  and  for  ever."  Ibid. 


"  The  knowledge  of  those,  and  belief  of  those  who 
own  the  Light,  and  believe  in  the  Light,  is  owned  by 
God's  Spirit  (in  this  our  day,)  for  the  true  believing  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  for  that  knowledge  which  is 
LIFE  ETERNAL.  And  the  knowledge  and  believing  on 
him,  as  men  account  it,  according  to  their  apprehensions 
of  the  letter,  without  thie,  is  reckoned  with  God  for 
ignorance  and  unbelief.''^  Ibid. 

"  That  the  glorious  hyposiatical  union  consists  of  a 
human  and  divine  nature,  or  that  they  are  hypostati- 
cally  one,  he  [an  opponent]  should  bear  with  us,  till  he 
produce  us  plain  Scripture  for  those  positions  and 
words."  William  Penn. 


167 


"  And  Christ  being  exalted  at  the  Father's  right  hand, 
is  no  proof  that  he  is  remote,  separate,  or  absent  from 
his  people  and  members,  any  more  than  that  the  Father's 
right  hand  of  power  is  absent  or  remote  from  them. 
Though  we  see  what  gross  apprehensions  some  men  have 
of  God  and  Christ,  who  would  thus  exclude,  or  limit, 
or  circumscribe  them,  yea,  God  and  his  right  hand  of 
power,  only  to  a  place  distant  from  his  people  and  chil- 
dren,— as  if  he  were  a  body  like  themselves.  His  right 
hand  of  power  is  where  he  is,  and  Christ  is  inseparable 
with  and  in  the  Father,  glorified  with  the  Father's  own 
self,  even  with  the  same  glory  which  he  had  with  him 
before  the  world  began  ;  which  glory  is  divine,  invisi- 
ble, and  incomprehensible  ;  and  therefore,  human  or 
earthly  nature  is  not  capable  of  that  Divine  glory  and 
power,"  &c.  George  Whitehead. 

"  As  at  any  time  disobedient  men  have  hearkened  to 
the  still  voice  of  the  Word,  that  messenger  of  God  in 
their  hearts,  to  be  afTected  and  convinced  by  it  as  it 
brings  reproof  for  sin,  which  is  but  a  fatherly  chastise- 
ment, so,  upon  true  brokenness  of  soul,  and  contrition  of 
spirit,  that  very  same  principle  and  Word  of  life  in  man, 
has  mediated  and  atoned^  and  God  has  been  propitious, 
lifting  up  the  light  of  his  countenance,  and  replenishing 
such  humble  penitents  Avith  Divine  consolations.  So 
that  still  the  same  Christ,  Word-God,  who  has  lighted 
all  men,  is  by  sin  grieved  and  burthened,  and  bears  the 
iniquities  of  such  as  so  sin,  and  reject  his  benefits.  But 
as  any  hear  his  knocks,  and  let  him  into  their  hearts, 
he  first  wounds  and  then  heals.  Afterwards  he  atones, 
mediates,  and  reinstates  man  in  the  holy  image  he  is 
fallen  from  by  sin.  Behold,  this  is  the  state  of  restitu- 
tion !  and  this,  in  some  measure,  was  witnessed  by  the 


168 


holy  patriarchs,  prophets,  and  servants  of  God  in  old 
time  ;  to  whom  Christ  was  substantially  the  same  Saviour 
and  Seed,  bruising  the  serpent's  head,  that  he  is  now  to 
us,  what  difference  soever  there  may  be  in  point  of 
manifestation." 

William  Penn,  in  Christian  Quaker,  p.  198. 

To  the  question,  Who  is  man's  redeemer  out  of  the 
fain  Isaac  Pennington  answers,  "The  eternal  Word, 
or  Son  of  the  Father,  even  the  wisdom  and  power  which 
went  forth  from  the  Fountain,  in  the  creation.''''  "  With 
what  doth  this  Word  redeem  1  Ans.  With  his  own 
life, — with  his  own  blood, — with  his  own  eternal  virtue 
and  purity.  Ques.  What  is  this  life  1  Ans.  It  is  the 
light  of  men.  It  is  that  which  gave  light  to  Adam  at 
first,  again  to  him  after  the  fall,  and  to  all  men  since  the 
fall."  Isaac  Pennington,  vol.  2,  p.  389. 

"  This  Light  wherewith  thou  art  enlightened,  is  the 
life  of  Jesus  (John,  ch.  i.  4,)  which  he  hath  given  a  ran- 
som for  man."  Stephen  Crisp's  Works,  p.  125. 

"Moreover  (Phil.  iii.  20,)  the  apostle  saith,  '  But  our 
conversation  is  in  heaven  ;  from  whence  we  look  for  the 
Saviour,  even  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  change 
our  vile  body,  that  it  may  be  fashioned  like  his  glorious 
body.'  So,  if  the  vile  body  be  changed,  and  fashioned 
like  his  glorious  body,  it  is  not  the  same ;  and  conse- 
quently, do  not  ye  undervalue  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and 
his  body, — ye  that  are  giving  such  by-names  to  his 
body,  as  humane,  and  humanity  ;  yea,  some  have  been 
so  bold  as  to  say,  he  is  in  heaven  with  a  natural  and 
carnal  body ;  but  these  have  been  some  of  the  grosser 
sort  of  professors.  And  the  most  sort  of  professors  say, 


169 


he  is  in  heaven  with  a  humane  body.  But  those  are 
not  Scripture  names  or  terms  :  for  if  your  vile,  natural, 
or  humane  bodies  must  be  changed,  and  made  like  unto 
his  glorious  body,  then  how  can  ye  say  that  Christ  is  in 
heaven  with  a  carnal,  natural,  or  human  bodyl  For 
man  [that  is,  the  natural]  knows  not  the  things  of  God, 
and  [carnal]  is  sold  under  sin,  as  the  apostle  tells  you. 
And  is  not  humane  from  the  ground'?  but  doth  not  Christ 
say,  he  is  from  above !  The  second  man  is  the  Lord 
from  heaven,  and  his  body  is  a  glorious  body,  and  he  is 
the  heavenly,  spiritual  man." 

George  Fox''s  Works,  vol.  5,  p.  ISl. 

"  There  is  none  knows  Christ  within,  but  he  knows 
him  without,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever.  And 
there  is  none  knows  him,  but  they  know  him  within  re- 
vealed of  the  Father ;  which  is  beyond  flesh  and  blood." 
"  The  Light  that  doth  enlighten  every  man  that  cometh 
into  the  world,  which  is  Christ  Jesus, — is  the  Teacher, 
and  he  that  believes  in  it,  receives  Christ." 

George  Fox,  Great  Mystery,  pp.  217,  288. 

"  That  God,  Christ,  and  Spirit,  the  Quakers  own,  is 
no  other  but  the  true  God  and  Christ;  even  that  God 
that  cannot  be  confined,  circumscribed,  and  limited  to  a 
place  of  residence,  seeing  the  heaven  of  heavens  cannot 
contain  him,  and  that  Christ  which  ascended  far  above 
all  heavens,  that  he  might  fill  all  things,  who  is  God 
over  all,  blessed  for  ever." 

George  Whitehead,  in  Christian  Quaker. 


Allied  to  the  doctrine  of  the  hypostatical  union,  is 
another,  called  the  Trinity,  which  is  thus  "briefly 

15 


170 


stated  "  by  the  same  author,  George  Hill.  "  The  Scrip- 
tures, while  they  declare  the  fundamental  truth  of 
natural  religion,  that  God  is  one, — reveal  two  persons, 
each  of  whom,  with  the  Father,  we  are  led  to  consider 
as  God  ;  and  ascribe  to  all  the  three,  distinct  personal 
propei-(ies."  "  Since  then,"  (continues  the  author,)  "  the 
Scriptures  teach  that  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  are  one  ;  and  since  the  unity  of  three  persons, 
who  partake  of  the  same  divine  nature,  must  of  neces- 
sity be  an  unity  of  the  most  perfect  kind,  we  may  rest 
assured,  that  the  more  we  can  abstract  from  every  idea 
of  inequalitxj,  division,  and  separation,  provided  we  preserve 
the  distinction  of  persons,  our  conceptions  approach  the 
nearer  to  the  truth.''''  pp.  562,  563. 

Upon  this  view  of  the  Trinity,  I  may  take  the  liberty 
to  remark,  that  when  we  attempt  to  follow  the  author's 
suggestion,  in  order  to  "approach  the  nearer  to  the 
truth,"  by  endeavouring  to  conceive  of  the  greatest  or 
closest  unity,  or  oneness  possible,  we  must  necessarily  lose 
all  sense  of  distinction,  and  the  idea  of  a  trinity  vanishes 
from  the  mind.  The  author  frankly  admits,  that  the 
manner  of  the  Divine  existence  is  "above  our  compre- 
hension :"  nevertheless,  he  has  attempted  to  show  the 
manner  of  it  to  a  certain  extent,  and  has  thereby  proved 
that  the  "  wisdom  of  man  is  foolishness  with  God." 

I  will  now  proceed  to  show  that  our  ancient  writers 
rejected  this  doctrine,  not  in  name  merely,  but  in  sub- 
stance. 

The  quotations  offered  under  the  previous  article, 
prove  that  the  ancient  Quakers  rejected  the  doctrine  of 
two  natures  in  the  Redeemer  ;  and  that  they  held  that 
he  is  the  Word  which  was  in  the  beginning  with  God, 
and  is  God ;  in  whom  is  life,  and  the  life  is  the  light  of 


171 


men :  that  his  coming  in  that  prepared  body  made  no 
alteration  in  him,  nor  did  it  add  any  thing  to  him ;  and 
that  the  virtue,  &c.,  of  what  was  done  by  him  in  that 
body,  was  "  not  of  the  body,'''  but  it  was  in  him  "  before 
time,  in  time,  and  will  be  after  time,  and  for  ever." 

The  first  authority  which  I  shall  offer  against  the 
trinity,  is  that  of  William  Penn,  who,  in  his  treatise 
called  "  The  Sandy  Foundation  Shaken,"  heads  his  two 
arguments  thus  :  1st.  "  T/ie  trinity  of  distinct  andseparate 
persons  in  the  unity  of  essence,  refuted  from  Scripture." 
2.  "  Refuted  from  right  reason."  Under  the  first  head, 
he  cites  the  following  texts,  in  support  of  his  opinion  : 
"  And  he  said.  Lord  God,  there  is  no  god  like  unto  thee." 
1  Kings  viii.  23.  "  To  whom  then  will  ye  liken  me,  or 
shall  I  be  equall  saith  the  Holy  Oree."  Isa.  xl.  25. 
"  I  am  the  Lord,  and  there  is  none  else ;  there  is  no  God 
besides  me."  xlv.  5.  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  thy  Re- 
deemer, the  Holy  One  of  Israel."  ch.  xlviii.  17.  "  I 
will  also  praise  thee,  O  my  God,  unto  thee  will  I  sing, 
0  Holy  One  of  Israel."  Psal.  Ixxi.  22.  "  Jehovah  shall 
be  one,  and  his  name,  one."  Zech.  xiv.  19.  "Which, 
with  a  cloud  of  other  testimonies  (continues  he)  that 
might  be  urged,  evidently  demonstrate,  that  in  the 
days  of  the  first  Covenant  and  prophets,  but  one  was 
the  Holy  God,  and  God  but  that  Holy  One."  Again : 
"  And  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Why  callest  thou  me  good  ■? 
there  is  none  good  but  one,  and  that  is  God."  Matt, 
xix.  17.  "  And  this  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might 
know  thee,  (Father)  the  only  true  God."  John  xvii.  3. 
"  Seeing  it  is  one  God  that  shall  justify."  Rom  iii.  30. 
"  There  be  gods  many, — but  unto  us  there  is  but  one 
God,  the  Father,  of  whom  are  all  things."  1  Cor.  viii. 
6.    "  One  God  and  Father,  who  is  above  all  things." 


172 


Eph.  iv.  6.  "  For  there  is  one  God."  1  Tim.  viii.  5. 
"  To  the  only  wise  God,  be  glory  now  and  for  ever." 
Jude  25.  "From  all  which  I  shall  lay  down  this  one 
assertion,  that  the  testimonies  of  Scripture,  both  under 
the  law,  and  since  the  gospel  dispensation,  declare  One 
to  be  God,  and  God  to  be  One,"  &c. 

See  the  appendix,  where  the  reader  will  find  the  sub- 
ject pursued  at  some  length ;  in  which  the  "  vulgar 
doctrine  of  satisfaction,"  and  "  the  justification  of  im- 
pure persons,"  &c.,  are  considered  and  refuted.  Also, 
Innocency  with  her  open  face  both  which  tracts  have 
been  repeatedly  republished  among  the  Select  works  of 
the  author,  by  the  Society. 

On  the  appearance  of  the  first  tract,  William  Penn 
was  cast  into  prison  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  on  the 
charge  of  denying  the  divinity  of  Christ,  He  then  came 
out  with  "  Innocency  with  her  open  face :"  and  the 
Bishop  then  released  him,  viewing  this  tract  as  a  recan- 
tation of  his  former  opinion,  although  William  Penn 
did  not  own  it  to  be  such,  neither  will  the  unbiassed 
reader  view  it  so :  for  he  does  not  acknowledge  the 
Divinity  of  Christ  in  the  same  sense  that  the  trinitarians 
hold  it, — but  abolishes  all  distinction  between  Christ 
and  God,  as  the  following  extract  from  the  work  will 
render  manifest. 

"  The  Proverbs  which,  as  most  agree,  intend  Christ 
the  Saviour,  speak  in  this  manner  :  'By  me  kings  reign, 
and  princes  decree  justice.  I  (wisdom)  lead  in  the 
midst  of  the  paths  of  judgment.  I  was  set  up  from 
everlasting.'  Prov.  viii.  To  which  Paul's  words 
allude,  '  Unto  them  which  are  called  (we  preach)  Christ 
the  power  of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  God.'  1  Cor.  ch.  1. 
From  whence  I  conclude  Christ  the  Saviour,  to  be  God  ; 


173 


for  otherwise  God  would  not  be  himself;  since  if  Christ 
be  distinct  from  God,  and  yet  God's  power  and  wisdom, 
God  would  be  without  his  own  power  and  wisdom. 
But  inasmuch  as  it  is  impossible  God's  power  and  wis- 
dom should  be  distinct  or  divided  from  himself,  it 
reasonably  follows,  that  Christ,  who  is  that  power  and 
wisdom,  is  not  distinct  from  God,  but  entirely  that  very 
same  God.^^ 

"  Next,  the  prophets,  David  and  Isaiah,  speak  thus  : 
'  The  Lord  is  my  light  and  my  salvation.'  Psal.  xxvii, 
'  I  will  give  thee  for  a  light  unto  the  Gentiles.'  Isa.  xlix. 
And,  speaking  to  the  church :  '  For  the  Lord  shall  be 
thine  everlasting  light.'  ch.  xl.  To  which  the  Evange- 
list adds  concerning  Christ,  '  That  was  the  true  Light 
which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world.' 
John  i.  9.  '  God  is  Light,  and  in  him  is  no  darkness  at 
all.'  John  i.  5.  From  whence  I  assert  the  unity  of  God 
and  Christ,  because,  though  nominally  distinguished,  yet 
essentially  the  same  Divine  Light.  For  if  Christ  be  that 
Light,  and  that  Light  be  God,  then  is  Christ  God ;  or,  if 
God  be  that  Light,  and  that  Light  be  Christ,  then  is  God 
Christ." 

"  Next,  from  the  word  Saviour,  it  is  manifest,  '  I,  even 
I  am  the  Lord,  and  besides  me  there  is  no  Saviour  ' 
Isa.  xliii.  '  And  thou  shalt  know  no  God  but  me,  for 
there  is  no  Saviour  besides  me.'  Hos.  xiii.  'And  Mary 
said.  My  spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour.' 
Luke  i.  27.  '  And  the  Samaritans  said  to  the  woman, 
now  we  know  that  this  is  indeed  the  Christ,  the  Saviour 
of  the  world.'  John  iv.  '  For  therefore  we  suffer  re- 
proach, because  we  trust  in  the  living  God,  who  is  the 
Saviour  of  all  men.'  1  Tim.  iv.  '  To  the  only  wise 
God  our  Saviour.'  Jude.  From  which  I  conclude 
Christ  to  be  God ;  for  if  none  can  save,  or  be  styled  pro- 
15* 


174 


perly  a  Saviour  but  God,  and  yet  that  Christ  is  said  to 
save,  and  properly  called  a  Saviour,  it  must  needs  follow, 
that  Christ  the  Saviour  is  God." 

"  Lastly.  '  In  the  beginning  was  the  (Logos)  Word 
(which  the  Greeks  sometimes  understand  for  wisdom 
and  Divine  reason,)  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and 
the  Word  was  God.  All  things  were  made  by  him,  and 
without  him  was  not  any  thing  made  that  was  made.' 
John,  ch.  i.  '  For  by  him  were  all  things  created  that 
are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth.  He  is  before  all 
things,  and  by  him  all  things  consist.'  Col.  1.  'Up- 
holding all  things  by  the  word  of  his  power,"  &c.  Heb. 
ch.  i.  Wherefore,  I  am  still  confirmed  in  the  belief  of 
Christ  the  Saviour's  Divinity.  For  he  that  made  all 
things,  and  by  whom  they  consist,  and  are  upheld,  be- 
cause before  all  things,  he  was  not  made  nor  upheld  by 
another,  and  consequently  is  God." 

On  this  subject,  George  Whitehead  answers  to  the 
question,  "Are  there  not  three  that  bear  record  in 
heaven  1"  "  I  say  yea,  and  these  three  are  one.  And 
is  not  Christ  the  Saviour  that  Word  which  is  one  of  the 
three  1  which  are  but  one  Divine  Being,  thing,  or  sub- 
stance, though  revealed  under  several  considerations  and 
diversities  of  manifestations,  and  degrees  of  discoveries,  yet 
all  OiNE  Divine  Life  and  Being,  as  God  is  the  Word, — 
the  Life, — the  Light, — and  so  is  Christ.  And  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  Life  to  the  righteous  ;  and  so  is  Christ  the 
way,  the  truth,  and  the  life." 

Christian  Quaker,  p.  352. 

Roger  Hnydock,  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  his  time, 
according  to  the  testimonies  respecting  him,  says,  "  The 
light  of  Christ,  wherewith  Christ  the  true  light  lighteth 


175 


every  man, — is  the  Life  of  the  Word,  the  Light  of  men  ; 
John  i.  4.  The  Spirit  of  God,  given  to  instruct  them  ; 
Nell.  ix.  20,  Ezek.  xxxvi.  27.  The  manifestation  of 
which  Spirit,  is  given  to  every  man  to  profit  witlial ; 
1  Cor.  xii.  7.  The  Spirit  of  Truth  which  proceedeth 
from  the  Father  ;  John  xv.  26, — reproves  the  world  of 
sin  j  xvi.  9 — and  maketh  manifest  all  things  that  are  re- 
proved; Eph.  V.  13.  For  that  is  the  Spirit  of  truth 
which  reproveth  and  convinceth  of  sin  ;  and  the  Spirit 
of  truth  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ, — for  Christ  is  the  Truth. 
John  xiv.  6.  And  the  Spirit  of  Christ  is  the  Spirit  of 
God,  for  the  Son  and  the  Father  are  one.  John  x.  30, 
and  V.  18  to  27.  One  Lord,  one  God  and  Father  of  all ; 
Eph.  iv.  5,  6  ;  Christ  and  God  is  Light ;  John  i.  4,  9  j 
and  viii.  12;  and  ix.  5  ;  1  John  i.  5.  'The  Lord  our 
God  is  one  Lord.'  Deut.  vi.  4.  God  is  a  Spirit.  John 
iv.  24.  The  Lord  is  that  Spirit  that  giveth  life.  2  Cor. 
iii.  6,  7.  The  changing  of  man  from  death  to  life,  is  by 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord.  2  Cor.  iii.  18.  '  I  the  Lord 
search  the  heart,  and  try  the  reins,  even  to  give  every 
man  according  to  his  ways,  and  according  to  the  fruit 
of  his  doings.'  Jer.  xvii.  10.  The  Spirit  saith,  '  I 
am  he  which  searched  the  reins  and  hearts  ;  and  I  will 
give  unto  every  one  of  you  according  to  your  works." 
Rev.  ii.  23.  '  The  Spirit  searcheth  all  things.'  2  Cor. 
ii.  10." 

"Hereby  it  is  evident,  the  spirit  of  God  is  one  with 
God  and  Christ,  and  so  God  infinite,  omnipresent,  who 
is  'one  Lord,  and  his  name  one,'  Zech.  xiv.  9,  who  sees 
all  things  ;  there  is  nothing  hid  or  can  be  hid  from  God's 
Spirit :  all  things  being  known  and  seen  by  the  Spirit 
of  God:  man's  thoughts  are  showed  and  told  by  it  ;  and 
whatsoever  thing  is  reproved,  it  showeth  and  maketh 
manifest ;  and  that  which  maketh  manifest  is  Light. 


176 


V.  13.  Well  then,  the  Spirit  of  truth  is  the  Light  of 
Christ  within  man, — which  makes  manifest,  and  showeth 
whatsoever  thing  is  reproved  by  it, — which  declareth  to 
man  the  thoughts  of  his  heart,  and  giveth  to  every  man 
according  to  his  works,  which  reproveth  and  convinceth 
man  of  sin,  and  leads  into  all  truth  ;  in  which  we  called 
Quakers  have  believed,  and  walk  in,  even  in  the  Light 
and  Spirit  of  God  and  Christ  ;  and  so  witness  the  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ,  cleansing  us frovi  all  sin;  and  the  Light 
and  Spirit  of  Christ  leading  us  on  together  into  all 
truth.  In  which  blessed  Light,  we  have  fellowship  with 
God,  who  is  Light,  and  one  with  another." 

See  Works,  pp.  141  to  145,  printed  in  London  in  1700. 

The  above  points  out,  by  Scripture  testimony,  God, 
and  the  Spirit,  and  Christ,  and  the  Light,  to  be, 
and  to  mean  the  very  same,  lH)th  in  nature  and  in  office. 

Stephen  Crisp,  in  answer  to  an  opponent,  says,  "  The 
doctrines  of  your  church  also  are  reproveable,  and  cor- 
rupt in  many  things,  contrary  to  the  Scriptures.  And 
first,  in  your  doctrines  of  God,  who  you  say  is  to  be 
known  and  believed  on,  as  in  the  distinguishment  of 
three  persons  :  and  herein  ye  teach  contrary  to  the  Scrip- 
tures of  truth,  which  you  say  is  your  rule ;  and  by  it 
are  all  such  dreamers  and  deceivers  judged,  and  by  the 
Spirit  which  gave  them  forth, — which  speaks  no  where 
of  three  persons,  as  ye  imagine  and  teach, — but  de- 
clares of  the  only  wise  God  who  is  one  in  his  Being  and 
substance,  individual,  infinite, — who  divideth  all  things, 
and  to  every  sort  their  portion, — who  limiteth  all  things, 
and  is  not  limited, — whose  power  and  spirit  is  insepara- 
ble from  Him, — who  is  the  Father  of  the  spirits  of  all 
flesh, — who  by  his  power  createth,  and  by  his  spirit 


♦ 


177 

quickeneth,  all  living  creatures ;  whose  power  is  the 
Christ,  and  whose  Spirit  is  the  holy  and  eternal  Life, 
which  they  partake  of  who  wait  for  his  appearance  in 
his  power.  And  these  do  not  the  Scriptures  call  three 
persons,  but  the  one  witness  in  the  heaven,  which  you 
are  all  ignorant  of  who  dream  and  divine  to  the  people  of 
a  distinguishment  of  persons  in  the  God-head.  Therefore 
cease  your  deceit,  ye  deceivers  and  soothsayers  of 
Egypt,  and  come  to  the  Light  which  shines  in  the  heart, 
that  by  it  you  may  come  to  the  true  knowledge  of  God, 
your  Creator,  and  of  his  power,  by  which  you  were 
created,  and  of  his  Spirit,  by  which  he  quickens  into 
newness  of  life  all  those  who  fear  him,  and  wait  for  his 
salvation,  which  by  the  Light  is  making  manifest," 

pp.  75,  76. 

To  an  opponent  who  said,  "The  Holy  Ghost  is  a 
person  ;  and  that  there  was  "  a  trinity  of  three  persons 
before  Christ  was  born,"  George  Fox  answers,  "  Thou 
knowest  not  him  that  is  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father 
in  him, — glorified  Avith  the  Father  before  the  world 
began.  And  the  Scriptures  do  not  tell  people  of  a 
trinity,  nor  three  persons :  but  the  common  prayer 
mass-book  speaks  of  three  persons, — brought  in  by  thy 
father,  the  Pope ;  and  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit 
were  always  one.''''  Great  Mystery,  p.  397.  And  again,  in 
page  555,  he  says,  "Neither  the  Word  nor  the  Scripture 
doth  tell  us  of  three  distinct  persons  ;  but  it  tells  us  of 
Father,  and  of  Son,  and  of  Holy  Ghost ;  but  indeed,  as 
I  said  before,  the  Pope's  canon-book  and  mass-book  do 
so :  for  the  Holy  Ghost  is  not  distinct  from  the  Son, 
and  the  Son  is  not  distinct  from  the  Father  ;  but  they 
are  all  in  one.'''    See  also  p.  42  L 


178 


Isaac  Pennington,  vol.  2,  pp.  17,  18,  says,  "He  that 
knoweth  the  Son,  doth  he  not  know  the  Father  1  And 
he  that  knoweth  the  Spirit,  doth  he  not  also  know  the 
Son  1  And  he  that  is  in  the  Spirit,  is  he  not  in  the 
Son  1  For  i/iey  are  one  nature  and  being.  A  man  may- 
have  notions  of  the  one,  and  not  of  the  other  ;  but  their 
nature,  their  beings  their  life,  their  virtue,  is  inseparable.^^ 

Job  Scott  pronounces  this  doctrine  "  a  monster  of 
absurdity;"  and  that  -'the  three  that  bear  record  in 
heaven,  are  not  three  persons  any  more  than  three  Gods, 
— but  one  eternal  God  over  all,  as  to  his  nature,  being, 
existence,  and  substance,  absolutely  and  entirely  OTze." 

Vol.  2,  p.  291. 

By  the  foregoing  quotations  from  the  writings  of  the 
first  and  most  eminent  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends, 
it  is  proved, 

1st.  That  they  rejected  the  doctrine  of  two  natures, 
or  persons,  in  Christ  the  Saviour, — the  one  human,  the 
other  divine. 

2d.  That  they  also  denied  the  trinity, — or  that  there 
are  three  distinct  persons  in  the  God-head. 

3d.  That  the  Word  taking  flesh,  or  appearing  in  the 
flesh,  neither  altered  him,  nor  added  to  him  ;  but  that,  as 
the  Redeemer,  he  remains  to  be  as  he  ever  was,  the 
same  Word-God,  in  whom  is  Light,  and  with  this  light 
enlightening  every  man  coming  into  the  world  ;  the 
Christ  within,  in  Avhom  is  our  only  hope  of  salvation  and 
glory  j  the  wisdom  of  God,  and  the  power  of  God, — the 
only  wise  God  our  Saviour :  and  that  there  are  not  two 
Christs,  one  within,  and  another  without:  neither  are 
there  iwo  Divine  Spirits;  that  the  Spirit  of  God,  and 
the  Spirit  of  Christ,  are  but  one  and  the  same  Spirit ; 


179 


Christ  being  the  Saviour  "  only  as  he  is  one  with  God 
the  "  one  witness  in  the  heaven,  who  is  through  all,  over 
all,  and  in  us  all,  God  blessed  for  ever." 

It  was  because  of  the  views  expressed  in  the  forego- 
ing quotations,  which  I  have  made  from  the  writings  of 
Friends,  respecting  the  Redeemer,  that  their  persecutors 
brought  against  them  the  charge  of  denying  the  Divinity 
of  Christ :  and  it  is  on  the  same  ground,  that  the  "  De- 
claration "  now  makes  the  same  charge.  Of  this  fact, 
every  impartial  reader  must  be  convinced,  who  has  ex- 
amined the  subject  with  attention.  I  will  here  present 
a  few  examples  by  way  of  illustration. 

Under  Article  XXXI.,  The  Declaration  quotes  Ed- 
ward Hicks,  as  follows  :  "  That  animal  body  that  appear- 
ed at  Jerusalem,  had  its  use  and  day,  but  the  Spirit  that 
was  clothed  upon  by  the  fulness  of  Divine  power, — this 
was  the  Saviour, — this  is  the  Saviour  to  whom  I  look 
for  salvation,  and  not  by  any  means  to  any  thing  outward 
or  corporeal^  On  this  passage,  the  Declaration  makes 
the  following  comment :  "  This  declaration  corresponds 
with  others  which  we  have  quoted,  and  is  a  virtual  denial 
that  Jesus  Christ,  who  appeared  at  Jerusalem,  is  the 
Saviour  of  men.  The  tetm  animal  body,  used  to  desig- 
nate our  Lord  is  irreverent,  and  unbecoming  a  creature 
dependent  upon  him  for  salvation." 

Thus,  the  "  animal  body  "  is  made  to  be  "  our  Lord  " 
and  Saviour,  or  an  indivisible  part  of  him  :  and  on  this 
apprehension  is  founded  the  charge  of  denying  the 
Divinity  of  the  Saviour,  or  of  Christ.  In  like  manner, 
when  Isaac  Pennington  designated  that  animal  body  as 
but  the  garment  which  Christ  wore, — but  "  the  visible 


180 


or  earthen  vessel  which  held  him  5"  when  William  Penn 
and  Daniel  Phillips  denied  that  outward  or  visible  per- 
son to  be  "  properly  the  Son  of  God,"  and  when  George 
Whitehead  told  his  opponents  that  the  true  Christ  could 
not  be  seen  with  "  carnal  eyes ;"  and  that  "  our  Christ" 
consisted  of  "quickening  Spirit,"  and  was  above  their 
earthly  Christ ;  they  were  all  charged  with  denying  his 
Divinity. 

Pending  the  late  controversy  in  the  Society,  (1825,) 
Elisha  Bates  published  a  work,  entitled,  "  The  Doctrines 
of  Friends  ;"  which  was  approved  by  the  orthodox  part, 
so  called.  From  page  89  of  that  work,  I  extract  the  fol- 
lowing passage  :  "  It  is  not  necessary  to  enter  into  a  state- 
ment  of  what  constitutes  the  human  character,  to  draw  a 
contrast  between  this  and  the  character  of  Jesus  Christ : 
for  though  he  was  man,  yet  he  was  more  than  man  ;  the 
Divine  nature  essentially  belonged  to  him."  "  Thus  it 
was  said,  '  A  body  hast  thou  prepared  me.'  And  again  : 
« Before  Abraham  was,  I  am.'  '  I  and  my  Father  are 
one.'  '  He  that  hath  seen  me,  hath  seen  the  Father.'  In 
all  these  passages,  and  many  more  which  might  be  men- 
tioned, in  which  there  is  an  obvious  and  necessary  refer- 
ence to  his  outward  appearance,  there  is,  at  the  same  time, 
a  direct  application  of  the  VERSoy JiL  pronouns  of  the  Di- 
vinity.^' 

William  Penn,  Isaac  Pennington,  and  George  White- 
head, quote  the  same  texts  to  prove  the  reverse  of  E.  Bates's 
proposition.  "If  that  which  was  before  Abraham,  and  yet 
in  being  the  same,  was  God,  as  none  that  own  the  Scrip- 
tures do  deny, — then,  because  that  outward  visible  body 
was  not  before  Abraham,  that  was  not  God."  "  He  that 
hath  seen  me,  hath  seen  the  Father.''    "Now  dare  he 


181 


assert,"  says  George  Whitehead  on  this  text,  "  that  God 
is  such  a  visible  being  as  to  be  seen  with  a  carnal  eye  ?" 

In  1828,  Thomas  Evans  published  a  work  on  the  same 
subject,  which  was  in  like  manner  approved  ;  from  the 
25th  page  of  which  I  take  the  following  passage  :  "  There 
is  scarcely  any  article  of  Christian  doctrine,  in  which  the 
Society  of  Friends  have  more  fully  or  repeatedly  declared 
their  sincere  belief,  than  in  the  proper  Divinity  of  our 
blessed  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  They  have  uni- 
formly testified  that  he  was  the  Word  of  God,  spoken  of 
by  the  evangelist  John,  by  whom  the  world  and  all  things 
else  were  made,  who  was  with  God  in  the  beginning,  and 
who  was,  and  is  over  all,  God  blessed  for  ever.  They  be- 
lieved that  in  the  fulness  of  time,  this  eternal  '  Word  was 
made  flesh,'  and  dwelt  among  men  in  the  person  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  born  of  the  virgin  Mary,"  &c. 

Now  the  assertion,  that  "  the  Divine  nature  essentially 
belonged  to  liim,"  [Jesus  Christ,]  or  the  visible  person  ;  in 
the  first  extract,  and  tiie  ascription  of  a  "  proper  divinity  " 
to  him,  in  the  second,  (that  is  a  divinity  of  his  own,  unde- 
rived,  or  a  divinity  not  possessed  in  common,  but  pecu- 
liar to  him,)  are  both  of  similar  import,  and  are  also 
found  to  be  in  agreement  with  the  "  Declaration," — and 
imply  tiiat  distinction  of  persons  which  the  doctrine  of  the 
trinity  affirms  of  the  Divinity.  But  I  have  proved  in  the 
foregoing  pages,  tliat  the  early  and  most  eminent  writers  in 
tlie  Society,  denied  both  the  trinity  and  its  kindred  tenet, 
the  hypostatical  union.  I  will  refresh  the  reader's  memory 
by  bringing  before  him  the  language  of  Isaac  Pennington, 
before  quoted,  who  gives  his  own  views  on  this  subject,  as 
well  as  those  of  his  fellow  professors,  in  clear  and  unambi- 
guous terms,  as  follows : 

16 


182 


"  If  he  [an  opponent]  mean  by  the  man  Christ  Jesus, 
the  second  Adam, — the  quickening  Spirit, — the  Lord  from 
heaven, — he  who  is  one  with  the  Father, — the  Word  which 
was  in  the  beginning,  who  created  all  things,— I  grant  Mm 
to  be  the  Redeemer.  But  if  he  distinguish  Christ  from 
this  Word  and  Spirit,  and  make  the  man^s  nature  the 
Saviour,  and  the  God-head  only  assistant  to  him,  (as  he 
seemed  to  word  it  before,  and  as  these  words  seemed  to 
imply,)  THAT  I  UTTERLY  DENY :  for  SO  testifieth  the  Scrip- 
ture, '  I  am  the  Lord,  and  beside  me  there  is  no  Saviour. 
I  am  a  just  God  and  a  Saviour,'  &c.  So  that  Christ  is 
the  Saviour,  as  he  is  one  with  God  ;  and  so  he  is  not  a 
foundation  or  the  corner-stone,  distinct  from  God.  It  is  the 
Spirit, — the  Life  that  was  revealed  in  that  man,  (by  which 
he  did  his  Father's  will,)  which  was,  and  is  the  founda- 
tion,''^ &c. 

Again,  he  says  still  more  clearly, — "  His  taking  up  a 
body  made  no  alteration  in  him  ;  added  nothing  to  him  ; 
only  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  take  it  up,  to  fulfil  the 
will  in  it,  and  to  offer  it  up  as  a  sacrifice,  in  his  own  life 
and  Spirit,  to  the  Father.  This  we  firmly  believe ;  and 
this  also  we  cannot  but  say  further,  that  the  virtue, — the 
value, — the  worth, — the  excellency  of  what  was  done  by 
him  in  the  body. — was  not  of  the  body  ;  but  it  was  in  him 
before  time,  in  time,  after  time,  and  for  ever." 

Again,  he  makes  the  following  comment  on  John  xiv.  9: 
"  What !  Dost  thou  know  me  after  the  flesh, — after  the 
body  ?  Dost  thou  take  that  for  me  ?  Have  I  been  so  long 
with  you,  and  do  you  know  me  no  better  than  so  1  The 
body  is  from  below :  the  body  is  like  one  of  yours,  (only 
sanctified  by  the  Father  and  preserved  without  sin,)  but  I 
am  the  same  Spirit,  Life,  and  Being,  with  the  Father :  we 
are  one  substance, — one  pure  power  of  Life,  and  we  cannot 


183 


be  divided  J  but  he  that  sees  one,  must  needs  see  both^ 
and  he  that  knows  one,  must  needs  know  both." 

Vol,  3,  p.  32. 

In  like  manner  William  Bayly  :  "  I  do  affirm  (hat  they 
who  preach  and  pray  in  the  spirit,  and  power,  and  light, 
and  wisdom  of  God,  do  pray  in  the  name  of  Jesus ;  for 
Jesus  is  but  a  name  which  was  given  unto  that  which  was 
BEFORE  that  name  was." 

To  conclude :  We  hold  the  doctrines  here  set  forth  by 
our  early  Friends,  to  be  "  sound  and  edifying;"  and  while 
we  thus  fully  own  the  Divinity  of  the  Redeemer,  even  the 
Christ  within, — the  Light  within, — the  alone  Saviour  of 
the  soul, — the  all-sufficient  Guide  and  Leader  to  everlasting 
life  and  glory, — we  deny  the  charges  in  the  Declaration, 
and  the  doctrines  inferred  from  them,  as  "  unsound  and 
spurious :"  and  which  doctrines,  in  a  few  words,  are  as 
follows  : 

1st.  That  the  outward  body  of  flesh  and  blood,  was  be- 
gotten  of  God  in  a  literal  sense. 

See  Article  XIL  and  XIV.' 

2d.  That  the  Redeemer  of  men  has  an  animal  body,  and 
material  blood.        See  Articles  XXXI.  and  XXXVIII. 

3d.  That  he  is  located  in  a  place  distant  from  his  people. 

See  Articles  XXXI.  and  XLVI. 

The  Society  of  Friends  believe  that  these  doctrines  "  de- 
grade the  Lord  of  life  and  glory."    But  they  believe, 

1st.  That  the  prepared  body  in  which  Christ  appeared 
'  to  do  the  will,"  was  a  creation  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 


184 


Spirit;  that  as  "everything  begets  its  like,"  the  word 
"begotten,"  as  used  in  a  Scriptural  sense,  is  a  figurative  ex- 
pression, denoting  a  spiritual  and  not  a  natural  birth  ;  as  in 
James  i.  18,  "  Of  his  own  will  begat  he  us  with  the  Word 
of  Truth;"  and  1  Cor.  iv.  15,  "  For  I  have  begotten  you 
through  the  gospel." 

2d.  That  the  Redeemer  is  one  with  God,  and  insepara- 
ble from  him  ;  and  that  the  outward  visible  body  was  but 
the  "garment  of  flesh  and  blood,"  "the  earthen  vessel  that 
held  him." 

3d.  That  he  is  the  "  one  Witness  in  the  heaven  "  within 
us, — is  not  confined  to  "  a  place,"  but  is  every  where  pre- 
sent ;  and  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  stands  not  in  locality, 
but  in  an  heavenly  spirit,  life,  and  nature,  wherein  notliing 
impure  can  live  or  enter. 

For  these  views,  the  Society  of  Friends  were  accused  by 
their  opponents  in  the  seventeenth  century,  with  denying 
the  Divinity  of  Christ ;  and  now  again  in  the  nineteenth, 
by  those  who  have  seceded  from  them,  but  who  style  them- 
selves and  claim  to  be  orthodox. 

The  authors  of  the  "  Declaration,"  in  their  concluding 
remarks,  make  use  of  the  following  language  : 

"  A  simple  and  child-like  reliance  upon  that  faith,  which 
is  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God, — is  thus  disregarded, — and 
the  proud  reason  of  man  exalted  into  the  seat  of  judgment. 
We  need  not  therefore  be  surprised  at  the  unsound  opin- 
ions which  they  entertain,  the  contemptuous  manner  in 
which  they  treat  the  inspirations  of  the  Holy  Spirit  con- 
tained in  the  scriptures  of  Truth,  and  the  very  irreverent 
and  unworthy  sentiments  respecting  the  blessed  Saviour 
and  Redeemer  of  men,  with  which  their  discourses  and 


185 


writings  abound,  as  if  it  were  a  chief  object  to  decry  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  and  to  degrade  the  Lord  of  life  and  glory." 

In  respect  to  these  concluding  strictures  in  the  Declara- 
tion, it  were  almost  superfluous  to  declare,  that  we  utterly 
deny  them,  as  in  the  highest  degree  false  and  calumnious  ; 
for  I  have  proved  them  to  be  such.  I  have  shown  that 
the  language  quoted  from  the  Sermons  applies  only  to  the 
abuse,  and  not  to  the  dueuse  of  the  Scriptures.  And  when 
they  charge  us  with  "  degrading  the  Lord  of  life  and  glory," 
I  have  fully  demonstrated,  that  the  remarks  found  in  the 
Sermons  apply  only  to  the  manhood, — to  that  prepared 
body, — and  not  to  the  Redeemer,  who  is  God  over  all, 
blessed  for  ever. 


BIOGBAPHICAL  NOTICE 

OF 

WILLIAM  GIBBONS,  M.D. 

Late  of  Wilmington,  Del. 
WRITTEN    BY    ONE    OF    HIS  SONS. 

James  and  Eleanor  Gibbons,  the  parents  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  narrative,  resided  in  Chester  county  during 
the  period  of  the  American  Kevolution.  They  lived 
on  the  "  Institution  Farm,"  near  West  Chester,  which 
was  afterwards  purchased  from  them  by  the  Yearly 
Meeting,  to  found  the  Westtown  school.  Not  long 
before  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  they  removed 
to  Philadelphia,  where  James  pursued  the  occupation  of 
surveyor  and  conveyancer.  He  also  taught  school  in 
"  Friends'  Academy,"  the  building  which  is  still  stand- 
ing, in  Fourth  street,  below  Chestnut. 

The  paternal  ancestor  of  James  Gibbons  emigrated 
from  England  to  Pennsylvania  some  years  prior  to  the 
arrival  of  William  Penn.  But  little  is  known  of  his  his- 
tory. He  was,  it  is  believed,  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  Friends.  His  descendants  are  numerous,  and  many  of 
them  now  reside  in  Lancaster,  Chester  and  Delaware 
Counties,  and  remain  principally  attached  to  the  Society. 

James  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  Society  of 
Friends.  During  the  Revolutionary  contest,  whilst 
Philadelphia  was  occupied  by  the  British,  and  the  Ame- 
rican army  was  encamped  at  Valley  Forge,  they  shared 
largely  in  the  sufferings  of  those  who  refused  to  take  part 
in  the  struggle.  Being  within  reach  of  the  foraging  par- 
ties of  both  armies,  they  were  a  prey  to  both,  and  were 
despoiled  of  nearly  every  thing  that  could  be  carried  off. 


188 


James  was  a  very  unpretending  man  in  his  person 
and  manners,  though  quite  a  linguist,  and  much  attached 
to  his  books.  One  day,  a  foraging  party  was  seen 
approaching  the  house,  when  the  family  had  scarcely 
anything  left  that  could  be  converted  into  food,  except- 
ing a  valuable  cow,  which  they  had  contrived,  up  to 
this  time,  to  hide  in  the  cellar.  Now,  however,  the 
cow  happened  to  be  in  the  yard,  and  it  was  too  late  to 
secrete  her.  Accordingly,  they  made  up  their  minds  to 
part  with  their  favorite  animal.  The  officer  in  com- 
mand of  the  party  rode  up  to  the  door,  and  stationing 
his  soldiers  without,  entered  the  house,  and  passed  into 
the  study,  where  James  was  sitting,  surrounded  by  his 
books.  The  officer,  who  was  an  educated  man,  glanced 
his  eye  over  the  library,  and  observing  a  variety  of 
books  in  the  dead  languages,  enquired  of  James  if  he 
could  read  those  books.  On  receiving  an  affirmative 
answer,  he  said,  "  You  are  a  clergyman,  I  presume." — 
"  No,"  said  James. — "Are  you  a  lawyer?" — "I  am  not." 
"  Then  you  are  a  doctor." — James  still  answered  in 
the  negative,  without  manifesting  any  disposition  to 
cultivate  the  acquaintance  of  his  visitor.  "  What  then 
is  your  occupation  1"  enquired  the  officer,  with  some 
surprise.  "  A  farmer,"  said  James.  On  this,  the  offi- 
cer, appearing  somewhat  astonished,  took  a  seat  and 
entered  into  conversation  on  the  subject  of  the  French 
and  other  languages.  At  the  close  of  the  interview,  he 
withdrew  with  his  men,  forbidding  them  to  touch  any 
thing  on  the  place.  Before  night,  however,  another 
party  came  that  way  and  seized  on  the  cow.* 

*The  trials  encountered  in  those  days  by  all  who  refused  to  take 
up  the  sword,  we  of  the  present  generation  can  haidly  estimate. 
Among  other  means  adopted  to  gain  subsistence  for  the  armies, 
bands  of  soldiers  were  sent  to  the  various  farm  houses,  to  thresh 
out  the  stores  of  winter  grain  and  bear  it  off.    While  they  were 


189 


During  their  residence  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  year 
1780,  William  was  born.  On  tlie  night  of  his  birth,  an 
older  child,  named  William,  who  had  been  lying  ill  for 
soiiie  time,  breathed  his  last.  The  mother  gave  to  her 
new-born  infant  the  name  of  him  whose  eyes  she  had 
just  closed.  William  was  the  youngest  of  a  large 
number  of  children. 

Soon  afterwards,  his  parents  removed  to  their  farm 
in  Chester  County,  where  they  continued  to  reside  till 
it  was  sold  for  the  purpose  of  a  school.  On  the  subject 
of  education,  James  Gibbons  was  deeply  interested,  and 
in  order  to  promote  the  establishment  of  Westtown 
school,  he  sold  the  farm  for  a  sum  below  its  value,  on 
condition  that  it  should  be  appropriated  to  no  other 
purpose. 

After  parting  with  the  Westtown  property,  James  re- 
moved with  his  family  to  a  farm  at  Dilworthtown,  a  few 
miles  south  of  West  Chester,  where  he  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.  He  died  in  the  year  1822,  and  his 
widow  followed  him  to  the  grave  in  a  few  months. 
James  was  eighty-four  years  old,  and  his  wife  a  few 
months  younger.    They  had  dwelt  together  in  the 

engaged  in  the  work,  they  were  quartered  on  the  family  of  the  far- 
mer, and  were  often  very  annoying  and  insulting  to  the  females  of 
the  household.  A  party  of  soldiers  were  sent  on  this  errand  to 
James's  place.  His  wife,  thinking  it  an  imposition  to  be  compelled 
to  board  them  under  such  circumstances,  determined  that,  at  least, 
they  should  behave  themselves  decently  while  in  her  house.  When 
they  came  in  from  their  day's  work  in  the  barn,  they  found  a  large 
pot  of  boiling  water  over  the  fire,  with  an  iron  ladle  in  it.  The 
idea  soon  entered  their  minds,  that  the  scalding  water  was  intended 
to  keep  them  in  order — an  idea  which  Eleanor  took  no  pains  to  re- 
move, and  which  was  confirmed  in  their  apprehension,  by  observing 
that  she  was  a  woman  of  uncommon  energy  and  determination. 
The  result  was  that  they  comported  themselves  with  scrupulous 
propriety  as  long  as  they  remained  about  the  premises. 


190 


marriage  relation  sixty  years.  Their  lives  were  pro- 
longed into  a  ripe  old  age,  in  which  they  enjoyed  the 
full  possession  of  their  bodily  and  mental  faculties. 
They  were  laid  side  by  side  in  Friends'  burying  ground 
at  Concord. 

Early  in  life,  William  Gibbons  evinced  a  fondness  for 
mental  pursuits.  The  facilities  for  acquiring  know- 
ledge were,  at  that  period,  extremely  limited,  in  com- 
parison with  the  present  time.  He  managed,  how- 
ever, mainly  by  his  own  efforts,  and  with  the  aid  of  his 
father,  who  was  fully  competent  to  the  task,  to  lay  up 
a  considerable  store  of  knowledge,  which  became  availa- 
ble to  him  througfh  life.  Eng-aginj^  in  the  study  of 
medicine,  he  graduated  in  the  year  1805,  and  settled 
about  five  miles  from  Wilmington,  near  the  present 
village  of  Centerville.  A  few  years  afterwards  he  re- 
moved to  Wilmington,  where  he  resided  for  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life,  continuing  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. 

In  the  year  180G,  he  was  married  to  Rebecca  Donald- 
son, the  youngest  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  Donaldson. 
She  was  a  few  years  younger  than  her  husband,  and 
a  woman  of  great  activity  and  energy,  and  well  qualified 
to  share  with  him  the  allotments  of  a  somewhat  event- 
ful life. 

In  early  manhood,  William  Gibbons  was  the  sub- 
ject of  deep  and  enduring  religious  impressions. 
His  views  on  questions  of  religion,  were  not  opinions 
merely,  but  they  resulted  from  close  enquiry  and  serious 
meditation  ;  they  were  solemn  convictions.  The  prin- 
ciples and  testimonies  of  Friends,  he  always  regarded 
as  of  momentous  importance  in  working  out  the  design 
of  man's  creation.  Believing  those  principles  and  testi- 
monies to  be  in  accordance  with  the  example  and  pre- 


191 


cepts  of  Jesus,  he  strove  to  be  faithful  and  diligent,  in 
all  the  circumstances  to  which  he  was  exposed,  in 
maintaining  before  the  world  the  character  of  a  practical 
and  consistent  Quaker. 

In  the  affairs  of  the  church,  he  bore  a  prominent  part. 
His  judgment  was  never  hasty,  but  always  the  result  of 
calm  and  deliberate  reflection.  Conclusions  thus  formed, 
he  maintained  with  conscientious  firmness.  His  words 
were  few,  and  to  the  purpose. 

The  grand  cardinal  testimonies  of  Friends,  he  was 
zealous  to  promote,  both  within  the  pale  of  Society,  and 
in  the  world  at  large.  The  religion  which  teaches  uni- 
versal love,  and  the  entire  incompatibility  of  war  with 
the  Divine  economy,  he  pressed  on  the  attention  of  the 
professed  followers  of  Christ,  as  the  only  true  religion. 
He  regarded  with  great  interest  and  satisfaction,  the 
!.it)Ours  of  many  sincere  and  upright  men,  in  various 
parts  of  the  world,  to  promulgate  the  doctrines  of  peace, 
both  as  individuals  and  associated  as  "Peace  Societies." 
With  William  Ladd,  the  distinguished  and  devoted  ad- 
vocate of  universal  peace,  he  enjoyed  a  personal  acquaint- 
ance, esteeming  him  as  an  exemplary  and  self-sacrific- 
\nnr  Christian.* 

•About  the  yoar  1837,  William  Ladd,  then  travelling  for  the 
promotion  of  his  favorite  concern,  called  on  William  Gibhons,  to 
whom  he  was  an  entire  stranger,  and,  without  formality,  introduced 
himself,  in  connection  with  th?  object  of  his  mission.  He  was  re- 
ceived with  coolness  and  suspicion;  but  after  a  short  time,  as  the 
conversation  opened,  William  Gibbons  became  more  interested  in 
bis  visitor,  and  meeting  with  an  entire  coincidence  of  sentiment  in 
relation  to  the  Christian  doctrine  of  non-resistance,  he  invited  a 
repetition  of  the  visit.  Out  of  this  circumstance  grew  a  mutual 
attachment,  which  continued  till  William  Ladd's  death.  Wni. 
Gibbons  was  in  the  habit  of  alluding,  with  much  interest,  to  their 
first  interview,  as  above  related. 


192 


Of  the  coloured  people,  he  was  an  early  and  constant 
friend.  On  numerous  occasions  he  took  a  prominent  part 
in  movements  on  their  behalf,  in  the  Monthly,  Quarterly 
and  Yearly  Meetings  ;  in  memorializing  the  state  and 
national  legislatures  against  slavery,  and  in  diffusing 
correct  information  and  proper  feelings  on  that  import- 
ant question,  both  among  Friends  and  throughout  the 
community  in  general.  He  was  for  many  years  one  of 
the  most  active  members  of  the  "Abolition  Society"  of 
the  State  of  Delaware — a  society  which  was  the  means, 
under  Providence,  of  illustrating  the  parable  of  the  Good 
Samaritan,  in  relation  to  a  large  number  of  persecuted 
and  oppressed  children  of  Africa.  He  was  also  one  of 
the  principal  members  of  the  "  African  School  Society," 
for  the  education  of  colored  people,  through  which  hun- 
dreds of  colored  children,  who  were  deprived  of  other 
means  of  instruction,  have  been  taught  the  rudiments  of 
education,  and  placed  in  a  position  where  they  could 
elevate  themselves  and  their  race.  This  society,  in 
which  he  never  ceased  to  take  a  deep  interest,  had  in 
its  charge,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  two  flourishing 
schools,  one  for  either  sex. 

Whilst  pursuing  his  medical  studies  in  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  he  became  deeply  impressed  with  the 
enlarged  and  liberal  views,  and  the  practical  benevo- 
lence of  Dr.  Rush,  then  one  of  the  professors  of  that  in- 
stitution. This  eminent  man,  in  his  lectures  to  the 
students,  was  concerned,  when  opportunity  presented, 
to  instil  in  the  minds  of  his  pupils  sound  moral  senti- 
ments, as  well  as  to  impart  medical  instruction.  Among 
the  subjects  to  which  he  frequently  directed  the  atten- 
tion of  the  students,  was  intemperance.  In  the  moderate 
and  habitual  use  of  ardent  spirit  as  a  drink,  and  its 


193 


frequent  administration  as  a  medicine,  he  traced  the 
source  of  this  alarming  and  destructive  vice. 

The  lessons  of  Dr.  Rush  were  not  lost  on  his  pupils. 
The  seed  sown  by  him  took  root  in  the  hearts  of  many 
of  his  hearers,  and  in  progress  of  time  yielded  an 
abundance  of  fruit.  His  lectures  and  publications  on 
this  subject  were  among  the  early  causes  which  led  to 
the  great  revolution  that  has  taken  place  of  latter  years, 
in  the  habits  of  the  community,  with  regard  to  the  use 
of  intoxicating  drink. 

The  subject  of  this  narrative,  throughout  the  whole 
course  of  his  medical  practice,  kept  in  view  the  admo- 
nitions of  his  excellent  preceptor.  It  was  his  invariable 
rule  never  to  prescribe  intoxicating  drinks  as  a  medi- 
cine, when  other  remedies  would  answer  the  same  pur- 
pose. He  used  frequently  to  refer,  with  much  emotion, 
to  instances  which  he  knew,  of  individuals  becoming 
drunkards  through  the  agency  of  intoxicating  liquor 
prescribed  by  physicians  during  the  sickness  or  conva- 
lescence of  their  patients. 

Deeply  impressed  with  the  danger  of  tampering  with 
the  intoxicating  cup,  and  keenly  sensible  of  the  many 
sufferings  visited  on  the  human  family  through  the  vice 
of  intemperance,  it  may  well  be  inferred  that  he  hailed 
with  satisfaction  the  efforts  instituted  about  twenty 
years  ago,  for  the  purpose  of  correcting  the  drinking 
usages  of  the  community,  and  guarding  the  youth 
against  the  formation  of  a  pernicious  habit.  He  united 
with  the  first  association  organized  with  this  design,  in 
the  State  of  Delaware,  and  served  for  a  time  as  its  pre- 
siding officer.  Before  this  society  he  read  a  lecture  on 
the  effects  of  ardent  spirits  on  the  human  constitution, 
parts  of  which  he  committed  to  the  press.  And  though 
he  afterwards  ceased  to  take  an  active  part  in  the 


194 


society,  yet  his  interest  in  the  cause  remained  unabated. 
In  regard  to  such  associations  in  general,  it  was  his  de- 
sire that  Friends  should  be  left  free  to  co-operate 
with  them  or  not,  as  they  felt  at  liberty  ;  and  that  they 
should  embrace  every  right  opening  to  advance  our  tes- 
timonies, and  promote  the  general  welfare  of  the  human 
family,  either  within  the  Society,  or  beyond  its  limits. 

To  cultivate  the  mind,  and  develope  the  faculties  which 
distinguish  man  from  the  brute,  he  regarded  as  an  im- 
perative duty.  By  a  diligent  application  of  his  leisure 
moments,  he  had  gathered  up  an  extensive  fund  of  use- 
ful knowledge,  which  he  was  fond  of  imparting  to  others, 
especially  to  young  people.  The  study  of  nature  fur- 
nished him  a  source  of  much  enjoyment,  and  he  loved 
to  trace,  in  the  outward  world,  the  evidence  of  wisdom 
and  design  on  the  part  of  a  beneficent  Creator.  He  was 
one  of  the  prominent  founders  of  the  Delaware  Academy 
of  Natural  Sciences, — an  institution  which  was  instru- 
mental in  diffusing  a  relish  for  intellectual  culture,  and 
diverting  the  minds  of  young  persons  from  trivial  and 
injurious  pursuits,  and  inviting  them  to  more  substantial 
and  ennobling  occupations.  In  this  association,  he  held, 
from  the  date  of  its  formation,  the  office  of  President, 
frequently  contributing,  by  essays  and  lectures,  to  the 
interest  of  its  meetings.  Some  of  these  essays  have 
been  preserved.  Among  them  are  several  on  Meteoro- 
logy, one  especially  of  much  value,  consisting  in  part  of 
tables  of  temperature,  extending  back  for  many  years, 
from  which  deductions  are  made,  to  show  what  changes, 
if  any,  are  taking  place  in  the  climate  of  the  United 
States.  It  is  probable  that  this  essay,  with  some  others, 
will  be  published. 

Novel-reading  he  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
serious  evils  of  the  day.    This  opinion  was  not  the 


195 


result  of  prejudice  or  partial  examination,  but  it  arose 
from  thorough  philosophical  enquiry,  confirmed  by  long 
continued  observation.  He  believed  that  the  natural 
and  inevitable  consequences,  on  the  impressible  charac- 
ter of  youth,  of  this  kind  of  reading,  with  which  our 
country  is  so  profusely  flooded,  are  to  distract  the 
attention,  to  weaken  the  powers  of  reflection,  to  cor- 
rupt the  taste,  to  pervert  the  judgment,  to  stimulate  the 
imagination  to  an  unhealthy  growth — in  short,  to  ener- 
vate all  the  intellectual,  and  to  deprave  all  the  moral 
faculties.  The  study  of  nature,  and  the  investigation 
of  the  laws  and  phenomena  of  the  material  universe,  he 
looked  on  as  a  fit  substitute  for  the  dissipation  of  novel 
reading  ;  and  he  believed  that  if  children  were  properly 
trained  in  the  exercise  of  their  perceptive  and  reflecting 
faculties,  they  would  discover,  as  they  grow  up,  and  in 
after  life,  an  exhaustless  mine  of  instruction  and  enjoy- 
ment, in  the  pages  of  that  diversified  and  magnificent 
volume  which  Providence  has  spread  before  our  eyes. 

In  social  intercourse  he  was  entertaining  and  instruc- 
tive. His  conversation,  though  habitually  cheerful  and 
even  sprightly,  was  never  light  and  trivial.  He  never 
related  an  anecdote  but  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  a 
truthj  or  pointing  a  moral.  His  anecdotes  were  mostly 
biographical  incidents,  appertaining  to  the  character  of 
distinguished  men. 

In  every  movement  calculated  to  afi'ect  the  general 
welfare  of  the  community,  William  Gibbons  always 
manifested  a  lively  concern.  He  was  much  interested 
in  promoting  the  tillage  of  the  soil,  and  improving  the 
arts  of  husbandry.  At  a  time  when  little  attention 
was  directed  to  the  cultivation  of  fruit,  he  established  a 
nursery  of  fruit  trees  at  Wilmington,  from  which  the 
surrounding  country  was  first  supplied  with  improved 


196 


and  choice  varieties.  He  had  an  orchard  of  carefully 
selected  fruits,  tl>e  products  of  which  it  gratified  him  to 
share  with  his  neighbors,  and  also  with  the  birds,  which 
he  sedulously  protected  from  the  murderous  aim  of  the 
sportsman.  He  was  so  much  attached  to  the  feathered 
songsters  which  nestled  in  the  shady  orchard,  that,  to 
avoid  annoying  them  or  driving  them  from  their  home, 
he  would  not  allow  a  gun  to  be  fired  on  the  premises. 

For  many  years,  his  pen  was  freely  employed  in  de- 
fending the  Society  of  Friends,  and  elucidating  their 
testimonies  and  doctrines.  This  brought  him  in  fre- 
quent conflict  with  the  opinions  and  prejudices  of 
religious  professors  of  other  denominations.  For 
"  modes  of  faith "  he  cared  but  little.  He  never 
judged  men  by  their  creeds.  Hovv^ever  widely  they 
might  differ  from  him,  the  difference  gave  him  no 
anxiety,  provided  they  were  honest  and  conscientious, 
and  evinced  by  an  upright  life  the  fruits  of  practical  re- 
ligion. The  same  toleration  that  he  extended  to  others, 
he  claimed  for  himself  and  the  Society  to  which  he 
was  attached.  It  was  chiefly  when  the  character  and 
doctrines  of  the  Society  were  assailed  and  misrepre- 
sented, that  he  came  forward  to  advocate  and  defend 
them  before  the  world. 

An  extensive  medical  practice,  in  which  he  was  en- 
gaged for  forty  years,  brought  him  continually  in  con- 
tact with  persons  of  various  religious  tenets.  These 
individuals  were  frequently  induced  by  their  regard  for 
his  professional  character  and  his  private  worth,  to 
inquire  into  tiie  nature  of  Friends'  principles,  and  the 
grounds  on  which  tliey  placed  their  testimonies. 
Though  he  never  obtruded  his  sentiments  on  the  notice 
of  others,  he  was  always  ready  to  declare  them  to  the 
honest  inquirer,  and  to  give  a  reason  for  his  faith.  On 


197 


such  occasions,  whether  he  succeeded  or  not  in  ma.iing 
a  convert  to  his  views,  he  never  failed  to  produce  a 
salutary  impression,  manifesting  that  his  heart  was  im- 
bued with  the  Christian  graces.* 

In  defending  what  he  believed  to  be  truth,  and  con- 
demning what  he  regarded  as  error,  he  never  permitted 
motives  of  policy  or  interest  to  impose  on  him  any 
restraint.  Acting  on  the  maxim  that  "  Honesty  is  the 
best  policy,"  he  bore  his  testimony  in  direct,  unequivo- 
cal language.  Individuals  who  may  have  felt  them- 
selves at  times  implicated  in  his  censure,  could  not  but 
honour  and  esteem  him  for  his  honest  and  faithful 
discharge  of  apprehended  duty.  Many  such  persons, 
members  of  other  religious  persuasions,  were  among  his 
most  attached  friends.  The  "  Orthodox  "  Friends, 
with  whom  he  had  formerly  enjoyed  religious  fellow- 
ship, he  continued  to  cherish  and  to  love,  and  it  was  a 
source  of  high  gratification  to  him  to  feel  that  differences 
in  religious  profession  had  not  disturbed  the  harmony 
of  their  social  intercourse. 

*The  following  scrap  was  found  among  his  papers.  It  appears 
to  be  the  beginning  of  a  rough  draft,  the  remainder  of  which  is 
missing.    It  is  without  name  or  date: 

To  the  question,  why  the  people  called  Quakers  are  opposed  to 
music,  asked  by  my  much  esteemed  friend,  I  answer : 

They  are  opposed  to  it,  from  a  consideration  of  the  precepts  and 
examples  of  the  blessed  Jesus  and  his  apostles.  We  are  enjoined 
to  follow  their  example  :  and  we  believe,  that  by  the  help  of  the 
grace  of  God,  it  is  made  quite  possible  to  us  to  obey  the  sacred  in- 
junction ;  otherwise  it  would  not  have  been  given.  As  Christians, 
therefore,  it  is  our  indispensable  duty  to  follow  their  example. 

There  is  no  instance  to  be  found  in  the  New  Testament,  of  the 
use  of  instrumental  music  by  our  Lord,  or  his  disciples.  Neither 
is  there  of  vocal  music  as  a  diversion,  or  amusement.  But  such  as 
were  "filled  with  the  Spirit,"  might  sing,  as  an  act  of  worship  ; 


198 


As  a  physician,  he  gained  the  affectionate  regard  of 
his  patients,  with  whom  he  was  ever  ready  to  sympa- 
thize in  their  sufferings.  To  witness  bodily  pain,  excited 
his  keenest  sensibilities.  So  far  from  becoming  inured 
to  scenes  of  pain  and  suffering,  these  scenes  became 
more  distressing  to  him  as  he  advanced  in  life.  When 
opportunity  presented,  he  was  mindful  to  direct  the 
attention  of  the  sufferer,  languishing  on  a  bed  of  sick- 
ness, to  a  source  of  comfort  and  of  hope  beyond  the 
realms  of  time.* 

As  a  parent,  to  whom  was  delegated  the  care  of  a 
large  family  of  children,  he  was  deeply  impressed  with 
the  responsibility  of  his  position,  and  discharged  his 

"  speaking  to  yotirselves  in  psalms  and  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs  : 
singing  and  making  melody  in  your  heart  to  the  Lord."  The 
Quakers  have  no  objection  to  "  making  melody"  iyi  the  heart  to  the 
Lord,  and  to  ourselves,  when  favoured  at  times  to  feel  there  the 
goodness  and  loving  kindness  of  our  great  Benefactor.  But  they 
deem  it  wrong  thus  to  approach  him  with  the  tongue  and  the  lips, 
when  the  heart  is  far  from  him  :  and  seeing  that  the  "  preparation 
of  the  heart "  is  of  the  Lord  only,  and  not  of  us,  nor  to  be  experi- 
enced in  our  own  will  or  our  own  time,  they  abstain  in  their 
worship,  from  the  practice  of  singing  in  public  meeting  at  set 
times,  in  which  many  might  join  who  are  unprepared  to  offer  prayer 
or  praise  from  the  heart. 

•The  following  letter  he  wrote  to  Edward  Gilpin,  a  former  pa- 
tient of  his,  who  had  been  taken  sick  while  on  a  visit  to  Philadelphia^ 
Wilmington,  2ttd  month  27th,  1844. 

Dear  Friend, — I  hasten  to  reply  to  thy  letter,  and  glad  should  1 
be  to  be  instrumental  in  any  way  to  relieve  thy  suffering. 

As  Dr.   is  in  attendance,  it  was  proper  that  I  should 

address  him,  on  the  treatment  of  thy  case,  and  I  have  communicated 
to  him  what  I  believe  might  be  useful,  as  far  as  the  imperfect 
knowledge  of  it,  which  I  have,  would  permit. 

Accept  the  assurances  of  my  love  and  my  sympathy  ;  and  may 
He  from  whom  all  good  cometh,  comfort  and  sustain  thee  in  thy 
fiffliction  and  trial.  Wili-iam  Gibbons. 


199 


duties  to  them  with  religious  assiduity.  The  first  child 
died  in  early  infancy  ;  but  after  that  occurrence,  the 
anorel  of  death  did  not  enter  the  threshold  until  he  came 
to  summon  the  head  of  the  family.  The  flock  was  then 
thirteen  in  number,  and  most  of  them  had  grown  up  to 
adult  life.*  The  ties  that  bound  him  to  his  family  were 
remarkably  strong,  and  he  often  expressed  his  gratitude 
to  Divine  Providence  for  this  extraordinary  exemption 
from  the  visitations  of  death. 

For  a  number  of  years,  he  had  laboured  under  the 
apprehension  that  his  life  would  be  terminated  suddenly, 
by  disease  of  the  heart.  Within  a  few  months  of  his  last 
illness,  he  had  several  alarming  attacks,  which  confirm- 
ed him  in  that  view.  These  attacks,  however,  passed 
off  speedily,  so  as  not  in  any  great  degree  to  interrupt 
his  visits  to  the  sick.  His  habits,  both  of  body  and 
mind,  were  very  active,  and  he  was  industriously  en- 
gaged in  medical  practice  when  the  hand  of  sickness  was 
laid  on  him  for  the  last  time. 

On  the  16th  of  the  Fourth  month,  1845,  he  was  sud- 
denly seized  with  symptoms  of  paralysis,  which  satisfied 
him  that  his  earthly  course  was  about  to  terminate. 
Anticipating  the  event,  he  was  not  unprepared  for  its 
approach.    On  receiving  the  summons,  he  instantly 

•Some  time  in  the  year  1829,  a  travelling  friend  was  at  his 
house  on  a  visit,  and  observing  a  large  number  of  children,  remarked 
that  he  was  reminded  by  what  he  saw,  of  Dr.  Parrish's  family, 
which  he  had  recently  visited  ;  adding  that  Dr.  Parrish  had  told 
him  that  he  could  say  what  no  other  man  in  Philadelphia  could 
say — that  he  had  eleven  children,  all  minors,  all  living  at  home, 
and  all  belonging  to  the  same  Monthly  Meeting.  "  Tell  him  on 
thy  return,"  said  William  Gibbons,  "  that  thou  hast  seen  a  friend 
of  his  in  Wilmington,  who  has  twelve  children,  all  minors,  all  liv- 
ing at  home,  and  all  belonging  to  the  same  Monthly  Meeting." 


200 


addressed  himself  to  prayer.  The  phj^sicians  who  were 
present,  objected  to  his  rising  in  bed.  "  I  must,"  he 
exclaimed,  "I  must, — I  feel  it  to  be  my  duty."  He 
continued  on  his  knees  for  some  time,  with  great  fervency 
addressing  the  throne  of  Grace.  His  language  gave 
evidence  of  the  support  and  comfort  he  experienced 
from  his  trust  and  faith  in  God.  "  Oh,  Lord  I  I  praise 
thee  !  I  desire  to  magnify  thy  name  !  Into  thy  hands  I 
commit  my  spirit! — Glory  to  God!  he  supports  me!" 

On  conclnding  this  earnest  and  solemn  devotional 
exercise,  he  lay  down  quietly  in  bed.  Observing  one 
of  his  most  intimate  friends  standing  at  the  bed  side, 
he  grasped  his  hand,  saying  :  "  We  have  passed  many 
pleasant  hours  together,  but  now  they  must  all  end." 
After  this,  his  articulation  became  so  much  affected 
that  it  was  difficult  at  times  to  understand  him.  It  was 
evident,  however,  that  his  mind  dwelt,  almost  without 
interruption,  on  the  change  that  he  felt  awaited  him. 
During  the  night  he  said  to  one  of  his  daughters,  after 
kissing  her :  "  It  will  not  be  long — on  earth  no  more." 
At  another  time  he  remarked  :  "  Oh !  it  will  soon  be 
over.  This  poor,  shattered  body  will  then  be  at  rest, 
and  I  shall  be  in  that  city,  none  of  whose  inhabitants 
can  say,  '  I  am  sick.'  " 

It  was  his  anxious  desire  that  he  might  have  a  clear 
vision  of  the  state  in  which  he  was  about  to  enter.  On 
several  occasions,  during  the  first  few  days  of  his  ill- 
ness, he  referred  to  this  subject,  apparently  disap- 
pointed in  not  being  able  to  penetrate  the  veil  which 
still  shut  him  out  from  the  immortal  world.  "  I  cannot 
see  clearly,"  he  would  say,  "but  I  feel  the  fulness  of 
the  glory  of  God."  At  one  time  he  remarked,  "  there 
is  nothing  in  my  way,  but  I  do  not  see  as  clearly  as  I 
would  wish  ;"  and  afterwards  seemed  depressed,  and 


201 


remained  in  silent  exercise  for  about  half  an  hour 
Then  arousing  suddenly,  he  exclaimed  in  tones  of 
triumph,  "Rejoice!  Oh  come  and  rejoice  with  me,  for 
I  have  found  the  sheep  which  was  lost ;"  and  quoting 
from  the  Psalms,  "  What  shall  I  render  unto  the  Lord 
for  all  his  benefits  I"  he  requested  to  have  the  Psalm 
read  to  him.  He  had  wrestled  with  the  angel  for  the 
blessing,  and  had  gained  it. 

On  the  day  after  his  attack,  he  began  to  repeat  to  a 
friend,  the  quotation,  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest, 
peace  on  earth,"  &c.  Before  he  had  concluded,  his 
friend  endeavored  to  anticipate  him  by  adding,  "  and 
good  will  to  men."  "  No,  no,"  said  he  emphatically, 
raising  his  hand,  "  good  will  to  all  men."  He  fre- 
quently afterwards  recited  the  same  text,  always  in 
the  same  manner,  laying  great  stress  on  the  latter  part. 

During  the  whole  course  of  his  illness,  which  lasted 
nine  days,  he  was  almost  constantly  engaged  in  reli- 
gious exercise,  the  general  tenor  of  which  was  expres- 
sive of  his  gratitude  to  God  for  his  mercies,  and  entire 
resignation  to  the  Divine  will.  "  I  have  no  desire 
to  live,"  said  he,  "  I  would  be  a  burthen  to  myself  and 
to  all  around  me.  But  not  my  will,  but  thine  be  done!" 
When  the  physicians,  on  one  of  their  visits,  had  a  con- 
sultation, he  requested  to  be  apprized,  without  reserve, 
what  was  their  view  of  his  case.  He  was  informed 
that  they  could  see  no  indications  of  immediate  danger, 
and  that  ample  warning  would  probably  be  given, 
should  an  unfavorable  result  occur.  "  I  am  willing  to 
live,"  he  replied,  "  but  I  wish  to  get  entirely  rid  of 
self,  and  to  have  no  will  of  my  own." 

He  frequently  desired  the  Bible  to  be  brought,  and  a 
portion  read  to  him — mostly  designating  the  chapter 
and  verse.    His  selections  were  made  from  the  New 


202 


Testament,  and  once  or  twice  from  the  Psalms.  The 
first  time,  perhaps,  when  he  made  this  request,  it  was 
objected  to,  because  he  had  not  slept  for  many  hours, 
and  his  condition  of  body  required  rest.  He  was  told 
of  this,  and  advised  to  compose  himself  to  sleep. 
"That  is  just  what  I  want,"  said  he;  "my  mind  is 
excited  and  on  the  wing,  and  I  wish  to  settle  it." 
His  request  was  immediately  complied  with,  and 
wdiilst  one  of  his  children  was  reading  to  him,  he  sank 
into  a  refreshing  slumber.  Afterwards,  whenever  he 
renewed  the  request,  it  was  instantly  acceded  to,  partly 
with  a  view  to  the  tranquillizing  effects. 

On  the  morning  of  Sixth  day,  two  days  after  the 
commencement  of  his  illness,  he  called  his  children  to 
him  one  by  one,  and  addressed  to  them  in  the  most  af- 
fectionate and  emphatic  manner,  the  following,  among 
other  expressions:  "Turn  to  thy  heavenly  Father,  for 
thou  wilt  soon  have  no  earthly  one." — "  Turn  unto  the 
Lord  and  he  will  turn  to  thee." — "  Oh !  leave  the 
world.  Seek  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteous- 
liess,  and  it  will  be  well  with  thee." — "  Lay  not  up  for 
yourselves  treasures  ou  earth.  Money — wealth — no- 
thing earthly  can  bring  you  happiness.  Salvation  is 
through  Christ" — laying  his  hand  upon  his  breast,  "  It 
is  an  inward  work — Christ  within,  the  hope  of  glory." 
Turning  to  his  younger  sons,  he  said,  "  Be  kind  to 
your  mother  !"  and  then  looking  round  upon  her, 
he  wept  aloud.  The  sundering  of  earthly  ties  seemed 
almost  to  overpower  him  ;  but  again  he  rose  above  all, 
transported  into  higher  and  holier  communion. 

On  Seventh  day,  19th  of  the  month,  he  appeared  to 
be  a  little  better.  By  noon,  those  of  his  children  who 
lived  abroad  had  all  arrived,  except  one  who  was  in  the 
West,  at  a  great  distance.    He  had  been  very  desirous 


203 


to  see  all  his  children,  and  he  looked  round  on  them, 
remarking :  "  all  here  hut  one,  and  he  so  far  away.  I 
want  to  see  hiin."  He  then  prayed  for  his  absent  son, 
weeping  much  at  the  time.  The  presence  of  his  wife 
and  children  during  his  sickness,  was  a  great  comfort 
to  him  J  it  gave  him  much  happiness  to  have  them  con- 
stantly around  his  bed.  On  First-day,  he  said  to  a  friend  : 
"  I  thought  it  was  opened  to  me  yesterday  that  I  should 
remain  a  little  longer,— that  the  Master  had  more  work 
for  me  to  do ;  but  now  I  have  no  confirmation  of  con- 
tinued life,  and  I  await  his  will."  In  the  evening,  he 
observed  that  it  was  First  day,  and  desired  the  familj- 
to  be  collected  in  his  chamber,  and  the  Bible  read.  He 
specified  the  portion  :  "  He  that  would  save  his  life 
shall  lose  Jt,  and  he  that  would  lose  his  life  for  my  sake 
shall  save  it,"  dwelling  on  the  passage  with  marked 
satisfaction. 

On  Second  day,  he  renewed  the  request  that  the  physi- 
cians should  state  to  him  precisely  their  view  of  his 
case ;  adding  that  there  was  no  danger  of  alarming 
him.  In  the  afternoon,  he  prescribed  for  himself  with 
much  judgment,  as  he  continued  frequently  to  do,  the 
last  few  days  of  his  illness.  Alluding  to  his  condition, 
lie  expressed  a  desire  to  be  released  from  life. — "In 
case  I  should  recover,  I  would  only  be  a  burthen  to 
those  around  me."  Much  of  his  time  was  spent,  as 
usual,  in  devotional  exercise,  and  in  offering  religious 
counsel  to  his  children. 

Third  day,  he  was  evidently  growing  weaker. 
Speaking  of  Christ  as  the  Saviour — the  light  and  the 
life — he  added,  "  not  only  the  life,  but  the  Resurrection."  ♦ 
He  then  placed  his  hand  on  his  breast  and  said :  "  The 
Resurrection  is  here ;  I  know  it  is  so — I  feel  it,  and 
desire  you  may  all  feel  it  too.    Blessed  be  God,  for  his 


204 


love  and  mercy  to  his  poor  creature,  man." — He  was 
deeply  touched  by  the  attentions  of  his  physicians  and 
friends,  and  spoke  of  them  with  strong  affection. 

On  Fifth  day  he  appeared  better,  being  more  free 
from  bodily  paia  and  distress,  so  that  some  hope  began 
to  be  entertained  of  his  recovery.  One  of  the  physi- 
cians assured  him  that  he  was  better,  but  he  shook  his 
head,  and  answered,  "  no."  After  resting  a  while 
very  tranquilly,  he  said  to  his  wife  that  he  wished  a 
plain,  walnut  coffin.  And  fearing  that  this  was  not 
understood,  he  asked  for  a  slate,  on  which  he  drew  the 
outline  of  a  coffin  ;  and  thus  satisfied  himself  that  his 
wish  in  this  respect  was  known.  Soon  afterwards, 
he  waved  his  hand  upwards,  exclaiming,  "  Passing — 
passing  away  !" — Notwithstanding  the  signs  of  amend- 
ment which  others  observed,  and  on  which  they  began 
to  build  flattering  hopes,  he  felt  that  the  end  was  nigh. 
He  was  indeed  passing  away  !  In  the  night  a  change 
took  place,  and  about  sunrise  next  morning,  after  sink- 
ing quietly  and  gently  for  some  hours,  his  spirit  was 
translated  to  the  mansions  of  rest. 

The  circumstances  attending  the  last  illness  of  Wil- 
liam Gibbons,  were,  in  some  respects,  peculiar.  En- 
joying the  perfect  exercise  of  his  mental  faculties,  his 
knowledge  of  the  human  frame  enabled  him  fully 
to  appreciate  his  condition,  and  to  contemplate  the 
course  of  disease,  as  it  invaded  the  vital  organs,  and 
sapped  the  springs  of  life.  The  ties  of  family,  which 
bind  the  heart  to  earth,  are  mostly  sundered,  to  some 
4>  extent,  long  before  we  reach  the  meridian  of  life. 
Death  mostly  singles  out  some  of  our  loved  ones,  and 
bears  them  to  the  home  eternal ;  as  if  in  kindness 
to  wean  the  traveller  from  this  world  of  care,  and 


205 


invite  him  to  a  world  of  rest  and  joy.  Not  so  with 
him.  Save  the  first  born,  which,  many  long  years  ago, 
had  been  torn  from  its  mother's  arms,  his  flock  was 
spared,  until  it  numbered  thirteen  sons  and  daughters, 
several  of  them  heads  of  families.  And  there  they  were, 
with  their  weeping  mother,  gathered  around  his  dying 
couch.  His  affections  were  strong — no  man  could  love 
his  family  more  tenderly.  But  the  time  of  parting  was 
at  hand — he  knew  it.  At  a  single  blow,  all  those  ties, 
which  had  multiplied  and  strengthened  with  the  lapse 
of  years,  were  to  be  severed.  The  trial  was  severe. 
Even  in  death,  his  heart  yearned  on  the  patriarchal* 
flock.  But  he  asked  not  for  the  life  of  the  body.  He 
knew  that  a  better  life  was  in  store  for  him.  His  path- 
way was  not  in  the  dark.  He  heard  his  Father's  voice, 
and  in  all  confidence  and  resignation,  he  obeyed  and 
followed.  He  died  exulting  over  death — declaring  the 
glory  of  the  Christian's  future,  and  beckoning  the  loved 
ones  who  wept  around  him,  to  follow.  May  his  hopes 
be  realized !  May  they  nieet  again,  father,  mother, 
children,  never  to  part ! 


I 


